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Pauline M Mountain MBE
Hi, I’m Pauline
I brought up a family of 3, plus enjoying my 3 grandchildren, whilst working for many years in the catering industry, eventually as a development manager for a large corporate company until I established my own company ‘Catering for a Healthy Lifestyle’. Sadly, we weren’t fully aware to the extent of my husband Gordon’s heart condition or how this would deteriorate!
I question at which point did I become a carer for Gordon whilst growing & managing the many aspects of life, spinning plates? There are many & varied limitations within the debilitating variations of a Heart Failure condition, Gordon collected many over the years, including Vascular Dementia, yet he always looked ‘fine’!
We’d looked for a support mechanism to help us both understand a little of what we were experiencing, not finding anything I set up our own. Through first-hand experience we realised the needs and benefits a group of people would gain coming together with empathy and understanding, we became the founders of HOPE -Hearts Of Positive Energy
After Gordons death in 2008, I also became an advocate for family Carers, who are so very integral within all areas of ‘sickness & health’, the ‘Dementia journey’ often being the one that’s not recognised soon enough, yet we often all need help!
I was instrumental in formalising Lincolnshire Carers & Young Carers Partnership, (now www.every-one.org.uk) this meant I was in contact with many NHS organisations, groups and University of Lincoln, which is where I was introduced to John and Petra who presented the early COG D for comment, well WOW! I immediately felt the broader reach and simplicity of the concept would be amazing for everybody concerned, also in a cost & time effect way. I was hooked and an advocate from the start as to the potential benefits, I wanted to ‘shout from the rooftops’
Containing my enthusiasm, I’ve continued to contribute by being involved throughout the ‘journey’ at various strategic points, as & when requested, always from a Patient/Carer perspective. Most recently, interviewing our current ‘funded Care-home support team’ to develop the next interesting stage of the ‘Cognitive Daisy’ as we gather evidence of the program progression. Not forgetting to ‘Value the Voice’ by the formulation of our wonderful PPI Patient Public Involvement group, to ensure we have a varied voice to feed into the project and out to the wider public, via the ’rooftops & beyond’.
Jean Hart
I worked for the Careers Service for over 28 years, retiring in 2006. I was employed by the Humberside Service for much of my professional life and became a skilled careers guidance practitioner/staff tutor trainer with experience of all the Service’s specialist functions including adult guidance and special needs. My activities focussed on the inner city of Hull, working with “the disengaged” in community development and outreach work.
Along with other family members I supported my father who had vascular dementia. He lived independently for over 10 years before developing “mixed” dementia. He spent the last 4 years of his life in a care home.
In 2018 I received a Volunteer NHS Humber staff award for my work with the European wide CAREGIVERS-PRO MMD research project, involving the University of Hull and the Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust piloting a social media platform for people living dementia. Since then I have become an Alzheimer’s Society (AS) Research Network Volunteer assessing funding applications as an “expert by experience”. I am also a volunteer as a NHS Humber Patient and Carer Experience Champion providing feedback to the Trust in supporting the development and improvement of services for people living with dementia.
I am truly excited by the Cognitive Daisy project and its potential to promote a very practical approach to excellent person-centred care.
Rebecca Mezzo
Hello I’m Rebecca Mezzo (Bex or Becky to some who already know me), I’ve had a special interest in dementia since 2010 when I worked as a volunteer officer for Alzheimer’s Society in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. I used to deliver sessions to improve the lives of those living in the community with dementia for the Dementia Friends organisation. I was involved with the Lincolnshire county dementia strategy and it’s refresh in recent months. In 2016 I helped find the charity Sleaford Dementia Support which continues to grow from strength to strength – being awarded Sleaford Town Council Charity of the Year 2019. I am currently a governor with LPFT, infact Deputy Lead Governor since January 2022 and keep a busy life with Girlguiding, family, suicide intervention, and in recent years chaired our local village hall committee to enable building work to encourage more people to use the facilities. Covid-19 slowed my life down but sometimes I believe you need time to slow things down, although I wouldn’t have brought covid and all that it has wreaked on the world. There is more to me but I was asked for brief!
Lynsey Foston
I’m Lynsey. I’m a full time Healthcare Assistant at an NHS Acute Mental Health Assessment Unit and a full time Psychology student at Hull University. Prior to my role with the NHS I worked as a Senior Carer in a residential home. I have also worked as a Domiciliary Carer and a Mobile Support Worker. I got involved with the Cognitive Daisy program as a way to help improve the patient carer relationship of people living with Dementia…. something I’m really passionate about.
In all of my social care roles, a similar issue occured…..there’s never enough staff and never enough time. When I first saw the Cognitive Daisy, I could see how it would benefit a care team by getting locum staff up to speed quickly and saving time with lengthy hand overs when you’re already busy. I could see how the Cognitive Daisy would help to promote dignity by quickly showcasing a service user’s strengths. As a carer I could see in a snapshot which areas I would need to offer support and which areas I would need to offer encouragement. As a senior Carer, I could see that by keeping the Daisy up to date as the person’s abilities change, I could deliver a clear, precise and time effective way of keeping my team informed on each service user’s current skills and difficulties.
Emma Wolverson
Hello my name is Emma. I am a clinical psychologist and lecturer in dementia. I have worked alongside people with dementia and their families since I first qualified as a psychologist in 2008. My work has taken me into memory clinics, hospitals, care homes and people’s own homes. I feel very strongly that people living with dementia and their families don’t get enough support after diagnosis and that is something that I work hard to change. In my role at the University of Hull, I teach health care professionals about dementia in the hope that they will go out and make a difference to people’s lives.
I am passionate about dementia research because it’s an important way that we can bring about changes in services and it gives people living with dementia hope for the future. I think that the Cognitive Daisy could help busy care home staff to learn more about the needs of the people in their care. I hope it can make care more person-centred and help staff to understand the people they support.