Season 1 Episode 1: In a Class of Her Own

"People living with dementia still have a story that is being written, as long as people draw breath that story continues on”Exploring different approaches to caring for people living with dementia including the butterfly approach, a model of care that is reimagining the way people living with dementia are cared for; ideas for better accommodating elders from South Asian communities; and a first-hand account of what life is like working in a care home.

“One of the people we were called in to support was telling us about an experience where the carer wanted to use a mop to wash them, once they found out they were gay”We explore some of the difficulties older LGBTQ+ people face in healthcare and present plans for the first LGBTQ+ retirement community in the country. Celebrating how much progress has been made whilst simultaneously spotlighting how far society still has to go. 

“Some of the things that I have come across is people saying “well if you don’t like it then go back to your own country”, but some of these people were born here, yes their skin is black but they were born in England”Care providers share the experiences of Caribbean elders that face discrimination when entering the care system, alongside a first-hand account of neglectful treatment - advocating the need for forms of care that respect cultural difference and individual needs. 

Keziah Wenham-Kenyon has been having conversations with people that make up a fragment of the sprawling social fabric of the elderly care system. This three part series will take a closer look into care, from perspectives that are underrepresented and intersections that require more compassion-led, people-focused support than traditional forms of care are currently providing. Launching 5 May: subscribe to be the first to hear the new episodes!   

“One night I woke and thought, what is that noise? It sounded like a dog that had its leg broken. It was my dad. He was crying and saying ‘Jesus, I’m sorry.’ It happened regularly that was going on”Paul’s personal account of how he felt about his dad growing up, and how that has affected the way in which he sees him become an elderly man with Parkinson's, in need of profound support. He describes the exhaustive care his mum offered, and the guilt they all felt when he finally went into a care home, despite having been adamant he never wanted to go. 

“Because the matriarch or patriarch is collapsing, there is no rudder or no anchor to the family structure anymore”Lizzi’s family went through a painful split as they disagreed on the nature of their mother’s care. She says they had been close, but a complex play of needs in the situation pulled them in different directions, and eventually pulled them apart. Lizzi describes her feelings about institutionalised care, and the duty she feels we have to our elders. 

“The music wasn’t her cup of tea, and they would swear a lot and be laughing and getting drunk” Cathy’s mum went into a great Housing Association flat that offered Supported Living, but she never quite fit in with the people there. Cathy talks about the class dimension of that, and how her mum often found herself stuck in the middle; and about the difficult and surprisingly heartening experience of holding a remote funeral ceremony during the pandemic. 

With personal stories from people across the country of their experiences of the elderly care system in the UK, this is a brand new podcast from Ad Infinitum. Launching 30 October: subscribe to be the first to hear new episodes!