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Dementia UK is a national charity providing support for families through specialist dementia nurses called Admiral Nurses. When things get challenging or difficult for people with dementia and their families, Admiral Nurses work alongside them. They give the one-to-one support, guidance and practical solutions people need, and that can be hard to find elsewhere.

Admiral Nurses work in the community, in hospitals and in hospices, in care homes, and on the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, ensuring that people with dementia and their families get the best care and advice possible.聽

This support helps people stay in their own homes for longer, helps them avoid hospital admissions, and helps keep both the person with dementia and their all-important carers as well as possible. This in turn takes some of the burden off of the health and social care system.

Admiral Nurses are continually trained, developed and supported by Dementia UK. Families that have their support have someone truly expert and caring by their side - helping them to live more positively with dementia in the present, and to face the challenges of tomorrow with more confidence and less fear.

Dementia UK has doubled the number of Admiral Nurses supporting families over the past three years but there are still so many families facing dementia alone, who desperately need specialist support.聽 We want to substantially increase the number of Admiral Nurses, both on our Helpline and across the UK, to be there for more families who need us.

I am really pleased to support Dementia UK in their work, providing Admiral Nurses to families affected by dementia. As I know from my own experience with my mother, Dee, dementia takes a toll on both the person with the diagnosis and the family around them, so it is very important that everyone facing dementia has access to the specialist advice of an Admiral Nurse. 聽

Admiral Nurses work alongside the entire family to anticipate the challenges dementia may bring and to prepare for them in advance. These specialist nurses can suggest ways to keep the person with dementia safe and comfortable in their home as well as methods for the family to communicate well with the person that they love.

Richard Burt would often make the three-hour round trip to visit his mum Margaret in North Shropshire. After Margaret was widowed, she began to show some confusion over household bills.聽 But Margaret had always been a physically fit, independent woman, and dementia did not cross Richard鈥檚 mind. 聽

One day, Margaret went to pick up her prescription from the GP, but he realised she鈥檇 picked it up the day before, so he GP called Richard. Margaret was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer鈥檚, a type of dementia, in 2008.

Margaret moved closer to Richard in 2010, as it became clearer that she was struggling to cope. But Richard had not been prepared for the effect the move would have on his mum: 鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 realised how devastating it was for someone with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease to be stripped away of all that was familiar鈥�.

Richard needed to spend more of his time looking after his mum. When things were at their darkest, a friend told him about the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline . 聽鈥淭he Nurse gave me advice about mum鈥檚 care and talked through my concerns and worries about future arrangements and how to manage the finances.

It was extremely helpful talking to a nurse, even on the end of the phone. I was really struggling to reach the right conclusion but after a few calls we were on the right track and for that I鈥檓 extremely grateful.鈥�

Gordon and Agnes Bentley, now both 77 years old, have been together since they were 16. Gordon 聽was first diagnosed with mixed dementia about five years ago and Agnes now cares for Gordon full time, although their son, Alan, sometimes stays to give her some respite as well as taking Alan out to the home games at their local Huddersfield FC.

The changes in Gordon鈥檚 personality have been hard for Agnes. Gordon used to be a sociable man and they had a close circle of friends but Gordon鈥檚 interest in socialising has now gone. Agnes spends most of her time with Gordon to make sure he is safe around the house.

Katie is the family鈥檚 Admiral Nurse and it is her advice sand support which has enabled Agnes to keep caring for Gordon at home. Before, Agnes says: 鈥淲hen things got tough I used to go upstairs and cry. It just builds up.鈥� But Katie鈥檚 support has given Agnes some coping strategies to keep Gordon safe, as well as giving Alan the confidence to take his dad to the football games, something that they both love, and which gives Agnes some time to herself.聽