In March 2008 my husband, aged 66, was diagnosed with
fronto-temporal dementia and Kate Hendy was appointed our Community Psychiatric Nurse. Obviously this was a very difficult time for me and right from the start Kate took charge and guided me through the steps I should take to ensure my husband received the help to which he was entitled. Kate handled everything from arranging our community tax to setting up day care and transport and later respite care at very short notice. She could see that I was having trouble sorting out things like Power of Attorney, getting free loft insulation and all sorts of things like that and she was brilliant at just getting on her phone there and then and talking to the right people to get things done. Her visits were well spaced to allow me time to adjust to the next phase (my husband's condition deteriorated rapidly) but were never hurried and she was always willing to listen not just about his dementia but about our family and friends as well. She never gave the impression of being in a hurry or not really caring about us. Kate always tried to include my husband in our conversations even though it was a losing battle and in the early days she listened to him with real interest and concern even though he might not make sense or repeat what he had said the previous visit. As a Community psychiatric nurse Kate may not fit most people's idea of nursing in that she may not actually deal with "the patient" and is not hands-on in the conventional nursing sense. However, I feel that the help, advice and caring she showed to myself and my husband for nearly a year were exceptional. I do not believe I would have been able to cope without her and could have ended up needing nursing myself. In that time I met several people (carers and dementia patients) who never even had a CPN or if they did he/she was nowhere near as knowledgible or efficient. My husband had to go into a Dementia Home in February but Kate continued to offer support until he was properly settled in.

Therefore I wish to nominate Kate Hendy for the Nursing Standard Patient's Choice Award 2009.