“Well I Know Now” is a series of podcasts in which award-winning blogger Pippa Kelly and her guests discuss what their dementia experiences have taught them. The series now includes a conversation with celebrated author, journalist and campaigner Nicci Gerrard (a.k.a. Nicci French, when writing psychological thrillers such as the Frieda Klein series, together with her husband Sean French).
In 2014, she co-founded “John’s Campaign”, which calls for carers of people with dementia to be afforded the same rights as parents have to accompany their sick children to hospital. The inspiration for the campaign came from her late father, John Gerrard. For years, he lived well with dementia, but a five-week stay in hospital to treat leg ulcers saw him rapidly decline. Afterwards, he was unable to recognise his family, and had also faded away physically to an almost skeletal state. These experiences, the founding of the campaign and Ms Gerrard’s research into many aspects of dementia and dementia care led to her 2019 non-fiction book “What Dementia Teaches Us About Love”.
John’s Campaign has recently turned its attention to people living in care homes, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 70 per cent of whom have dementia. Their loved ones have been unable to visit them for months, causing heartbreak, confusion and decline. The Campaign has asked the UK Government to review the guidance around care homes, saying that family carers are not visitors but rather are vital to the health and selfhood of people with dementia, and should be given the same protection, testing and status as key workers. You can listen to the podcast with Nicci Gerrard, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/nicci-gerrard/id1513600445?i=1000500098967
