Meet Our Dementia Care Guruu: Hilary Wellington

Hilary Wellington is our Dementia Care Guruu, and wants to support people in caring for someone with dementia so that both can live well. She has over 30 years' professional experience of working with people with dementia and their carers, and has managed day care facilities and established carers' support services. 

 

Hilary is a qualified counsellor and published author on the subject of older people's emotional wellbeing, and has taught on mental health and ageing for the Open University. She has an M.Ed in Lifelong Learning and Inclusive Education for which she researched the importance of learning for older people, and the use of reminiscence therapy in supporting people with dementia to re-connect with their self esteem. Hilary currently runs Ginny's Good Yarn which provides person-centred learning and therapeutic services to people with dementia and their carers.  Hilary is a Dementia Champion, a member of Dementia Care Matters and is training to teach validation therapy.

These are just a few of the topics that Hilary can advise on:

• My relative won't accept that s/he has dementia.  What can I do?
• S/he seems to have lost all interest in life. How can I help to keep him/her occupied?
• S/he keeps asking for her/his Mum or Dad, husband or wife but that person died years ago. What does it mean and what should I say?
• I get scared as evening approaches because my relative often gets very agitated and I don't know how to handle this.
• I need a break from caring but I don't know how
• My relative isn't eating properly. How can I get them to eat well again?
• My relative gets angry and asks who I am and what I'm doing in their house. How can I deal with this?
• My relative frequently wets him/herself or uses inappropriate places as a lavatory. What can I do to stop this?
  
  

A minimum of 5% of Hilary's fees will support Nottinghamshire Hospice, which provides terminal patients with a high standard of end-of-life care.