Lockdown confusion for dementia patients
The coronavirus lockdown is taking a toll on those who suffer dementia as they struggle to understand why they can’t see their family.
Nicola Turner, the general manager of Enliven, which has 14 rest homes nationwide, said isolation was a confusing time for residents with high levels of dementia.
‘‘You can’t explain to them why people aren’t coming in,’’ she said. ‘‘They understand for a moment in time and then they forget.’’
Dementia describes diseases and conditions characterised by a decline in memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking skills.
One dementia resident based at Enliven’s Chalmers Home in New Plymouth had been walking around looking for his wife, Turner said.
Staff were doing all they could to reassure and comfort residents during this time, she added.
Residents were able to make video calls to their families and some were going for walks around the block with a staff member.
But as the country settled into its second week of lockdown, Turner said the mood at Chalmers had become ‘‘reasonably relaxed’’.
‘‘They’re actually having a good time because they’re all together. There’s quite a lot of banter going on.’’
Permanent Chalmers resident
Jenene Parata, 65, praised staff and residents but said lockdown brought mixed emotions.
She felt for the ‘‘upset’’ dementia patients struggling to understand why their families had suddenly stopped visiting, and desperately missed her own loved ones.
Parata, who resides at the hospital wing and receives care as an amputee, has kept in touch with family through technology. But it was not the same.
‘‘I really miss the grandchildren. I want to see them,’’ the ‘‘Nanny’’ to 20 said.
In an effort to curb the potential spread of Covid-19, families were no longer able to drop off care packages to residents at Chalmers, Parata said.
At times she felt isolated. People in lockdown across the country have the freedom to explore their neighbourhoods, but it wasn’t the same for rest home residents, Parata said.
‘‘I’m used to getting out and about,’’ she said.
‘‘I do get a little bit down sometimes and I go to my room and ponder. But then I think ‘don’t be stupid – everyone else is in the same situation’.’’
To pick herself up, Parata has begun planning her postlockdown outings.
She looked forward to reuniting with her family for their annual Easter bash, albeit at a later date.
And she has a brand-new electric wheelchair she was eager to take for a spin on the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway.
‘‘They won’t be seeing me here for a little while,’’ she laughed.