Valerie’s Intervention Secures Victory for John’s Campaign

On Wednesday 24 March 2015 the Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP, Minister of State for Care and Support, wrote to the Chief Executives of all the Acute Trusts in England to raise the aims of John’s Campaign following a meeting arranged by Valerie Vaz, Member of Parliament for Walsall South.

Valerie Vaz MP said:

“At our meeting on Thursday 26 February 2015 the Minister of State for Care and Support agreed to write to the Chief Executives of Acute Trusts about the aims of John’s Campaign. This letter calls for the carers of people with dementia who are in hospital, to be allowed the option to stay with that person outside of normal visiting hours or even overnight. This follows a letter sent out in March 2013 that called for hospitals to be more dementia friendly.”

“This is a positive step forward as dementia patients can struggle to understand and communicate with strangers in unusual surroundings such as hospitals. I hope that all hospitals across the country will allow carers to stay with patients who have dementia, just as parents are encouraged to stay with their children.”

“John’s Campaign was initiated following the death of Dr John Gerrard who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his mid-seventies and died in November 2014. John’s family were restricted in the amount of time they were able to spend with him in hospital. The family were not able to provide a continuation of his normal life when in hospital, such as talking and reading to him and that as a result when he came out of hospital his Alzheimer’s had worsened.”

“I was pleased to support John’s Campaign following meeting with Julia Jones and Francis Wheen. I tabled an Early Day Motion which received support from a cross-party group of 58 MPs. After raising John’s Campaign in the Christmas Adjournment Debate on Thursday 18 December, I am pleased the Minister of State for Care and Support agreed to meet with myself and John’s Campaign. This letter achieves the Campaign’s aims and is a fitting end to this Parliament.”

On Thursday 18 December 2014 Valerie Vaz MP raised John’s Campaign during the Christmas Adjournment Debate:

“Finally, I became involved with John’s Campaign when I met Julia Jones and Francis Wheen. Julia told me about her elderly mother and how she worries about her as her carer. She talked about her friend Nicci Gerrard, whose father had recently died. Many Members will have seen the article in The Observer about Nicci’s dad. Dr John Gerrard had dementia. He was admitted to hospital, and Nicci said he was cared for by the doctors and nurses. Nicci and her family took an interest in John: they talked to him, read to him and played chess with him. However, in the hospital setting Nicci was not allowed to stay with John. All Nicci asked for and wanted was to continue doing those things with John, so that he could carry out his usual activities. Hospital is unnerving without dementia, but imagine if one cannot remember things—one would definitely feel more vulnerable. Nicci knew that John was deteriorating. The Library provided information on an example of very helpful good practice in a Bristol hospital. University Hospitals Bristol allow carers to continue their care in hospital. Ward staff have an initial daily conversation with carers, so they are clear what their role is in hospital. Carers are allowed to be with patients outside visiting hours, including through the night.”

“The Minister of State, Department of Health, the right hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), who has responsibility for care and support, wants all hospitals to be dementia friendly. He wrote a letter, on 14 March 2013, to all acute hospital trusts, but this aspect was not mentioned. Parents are encouraged to stay with their children overnight to make the experience less formidable. I ask the Deputy Leader of the House to ask the Minister to meet me and the founders of John’s Campaign, Nicci Gerrard, Julia Jones and Francis Wheen, to discuss taking this issue forward. The early-day motion I tabled has received cross-party support from 41 Members, as of today. If there ever was a new year resolution that could come true, the Deputy Leader has it in his power to grant it. It would help those who support their loved ones in difficult times, and do so in John’s memory.”

Valerie Vaz MP’s Early Day Motion 586: John’s Campaign and the Right to Stay with Dementia Patients in Hospital:

“That this House notes that there are 800,000 people in the UK with dementia and that one in three people over the age of 65 will develop the condition; praises the families and carers of patients with dementia who are vulnerable and can often be distressed and disoriented; further notes an article in The Observer newspaper on 30 November 2014 by Nicci Gerrard whose father, Dr John Gerrard, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his mid-seventies and died in November 2014; further notes that his family were restricted in the amount of time they were able to spend with him in hospital when he was admitted in February 2014 for a separate condition; further notes that his family were not able to provide a continuation of his normal life when in hospital, such as talking and reading to him and that as a result when he came out of hospital his Alzheimer’s had worsened; and calls on the Government to support the same rights for families and carers of dementia sufferers as parents of sick children and allow for family representatives to stay with the patients at any time of the day as dementia sufferers can struggle to understand and communicate with strangers in unusual surroundings.”

http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/586