Medical profession

I have been thinking a lot lately about the knowledge and understanding of the medical profession with Alzheimer's. My mother was a very intelligent and articulate woman. About twelve years ago she started worrying about gaps in her memory as well as her perceptions of things. As she had done things like not knowing where she had left her keys we would laugh and remind her that she had done things like this all her life. Frankly I was not bothered and just thought it was part of normal old age however she went to the doctor who had her assessed at the hospital. They gave her things to do and talked to her and told her she was doing very well for a person her age, no brain scan was done. I thought no more of it but looking back she would have been in the early stages then. It is such a shame it was not picked up then when medication may have been beneficial. I feel quite guily that I did not take her concerns more seriously.

Later they used brain scans as well as verbal tests to diagnose Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases. Now, in and effort to save money the diagnosis has been passed to the GP. In my experience this is not going to help a lot as the majority of them are net well versed in this disease. Frequently I have  had to tell various doctors about things they don't appreciate about the well being of their patient. When I realised that George had it as well as Mum our own doctor was very reluctant to accept this and did not want him to be assessed. Luckily a locuum thought I was right and sent him for assessment. I fully realise that they cannot know it all and it is very difficult as these people all display different situations. It is so important that we have specialists who have a greater understanding to deal with this problem.

My mother has had two reasonably extended stays in hospital, both with disasterous consequences due to staff having very little understanding of how to deal with her and not listening to family members who tried very hard to help them with her care. I am not sure whether this was due to arrogance or their rigid rules or what.