It’s a universal right to get sand between your toes, smell the ozone, hear the seagulls, watch the tide lapping the shore and eat an ice cream. This applies if you are one or 101. Whatever stage your dementia has reached all of these can be experienced in the moment and enjoyed. They are also […]
The right to die? Post script 1
“….nothing should be decided “lightly, wantonly or unadvisedly”. Following on from my blog of yesterday, there is a lot more in the press today. Including a report in the Independent that a letter written by cleric Christopher Jones who died from cancer is being sent to all members of the House of Lords urging them to oppose […]
The right to die – assisted death or assisted suicide?
Should we have the right to decide whether we live or die? Is it right to help a person end their life? Since 1961 it has not been illegal to commit suicide. The State recognises we have the right to end our lives if we want to. It’s important though to draw a distinction between assisted suicide […]
Poor care could get you five years in jail
It’s time all those involved in the care of the vulnerable woke up to their obligations under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (‘the Act’). Eighty per cent of people living in care homes have a form of dementia or severe memory problem. They are all entitled to have their rights under the Act respected. While, at […]
Can you still be made to retire at 65?
Since April 2011 you have not been able to dismiss employees just because they’ve reached the age of 65. So can you still have a retirement age of 65? Yes provided you can show “it was a proportionate way of achieving a legitimate aim,” or in plain English that it was reasonable in all […]
I might be losing my mind but I can still peel the spuds!
It can be very easy to slip into a mind set that a person with dementia can no longer do things. This may be because they take longer, or break things, or get frustrated. But that doesn’t matter . I can’t drive a car like Jensen Button but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t drive. There […]
Can you disinherit your children?
Until recently the view was yes. The Inheritance (provision for family and dependants) Act 1975 (‘the Act) was interpreted as not allowing adult non-dependant children to make a claim against your estate other than in exceptional circumstances. The case of Ilot v Mitson 2011 (finally resolved in 2014) changed that. Mrs Mitson didn’t get on […]
The Right to say NO
We all have the right to refuse medical treatment. If it is carried out without our consent then it can constitute an assault and give rise to both civil and criminal proceedings. But what is the position if we are unconscious at the time or otherwise lacking in mental capacity? If we do lack […]
How good is your quality of life?
What is the meaning of life? What do you still want to achieve before you die? Why haven’t you done it? In a letter to a girlfriend John F Kennedy wrote that if he lived to 100 he could only improve the quantity not the quality of his life. Many of us have the manana […]
“He may be dead but his spirit is still with us”
Today the world mourns and celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela. From the news coverage on the BBC it seems the people of South Africa see this more as a time to celebrate his life than mourn his death. Listening to the radio, I heard two young boys being asked if they were sorry he was dead. […]