Hospice nurse will help train those who care for people with dementia

Janet Willoughby, who has 37 years’ nursing experience, eight of them as an educator in end-of-life care at the hospice, took up her post in mid-March.

As well as training dementia care specialists in end-of-life care, Janet will share her knowledge with the hospice’s own clinical team, to improve care in its inpatient unit for patients with dementia.

Director of clinical care Clare Hearnshaw said: “We know that, as our population ages and lives longer, the number of people with a loss of memory function will increase, which will present challenges for the clinicians who treat them.

“It can be hard to recognise when people with dementia are dying, and caring for people with advanced dementia at the end of their lives is not always straightforward.

“Caring for the loved ones of people with dementia also requires exceptional skill and compassion.”