Earlier this month, I was invited to Elizabeth Bartlett’s house in Salisbury. Funded by Wiltshire council, she holds weekly experiential memory support groups for people with dementia and their carers. We were warmly invited with tea, coffee and biscuits and then divided into two groups, one – for the people with dementia facilitated by Elizabeth and one for the carers, facilitated by her husband John. I spent 45 minutes with each group. They meet to share their experiences of living with dementia and living with people with dementia.
I was invited partly because my parents have been going to the group for the last few months and finding it incredibly supportive, but also because of my enduring professional and recent academic interest in the relationships between doctors and patients. The carers especially, were hoping that I would be able to share their concerns and experiences with other GPs and medical students.
Context matters.
