Sir, – As carer to my husband, who has suffered with dementia for the past four years, I wholeheartedly agreed with Prof Cahill (Letters, October 28th) about the latest Health Service Executive campaign entitled "Understanding Together".
What does this mean? I must say my initial reaction was annoyance when I heard about it.
Producing expensive websites with colourful pictures of people smiling benignly at each other means nothing when you are at your wits’ end and cannot cope with a dear one who can no longer communicate with you.
Most people I know are “aware” of the sad existence of dementia and how is their “understanding together” going to help in the day-to-day living with somebody who you no longer know as your husband or wife.
You see the person but the inner-self is slipping away from you a little every day.
Yes, there are lots of hopeful contact numbers published in expensively printed leaflets and booklets. But try accessing, for example, respite or short-term help, and there is either a long waiting list, with maybe one HSE bed available, or this has been discontinued in your area.
I get two hours a week with a care assistant from the HSE. This hardly gives me time to go to the nearest supermarket which is eight miles from where I live.
The HSE should refrain from launching expensive campaigns with absurd titles which mean nothing and do not help those living with dementia.
Let us have some properly resourced services tailored to relieve the great sadness of dementia, which is set to blight some of the elderly in our country. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET TROY
Cahir,
Co Tipperary.