This week marks Dementia Action Week, an annual initiative by Alzheimer's Society to raise awareness of dementia. They encourage an increased focus on diagnosis, so that the 1 in 3 people with dementia without a diagnosis can access the support, care and treatment that they need. What do those things mean for vegans and vegetarians in care settings?
Vegetarian for Life (VfL) has plenty to say about that. But first, a word on numbers. For vegans and vegetarians, diet and practices around diet are often fundamental to their identity. Respecting those aspects of identity are an essential dimension of person-centred care. Where care providers fall short of that, it can have a huge impact on that individual's well-being. Sometimes, we can get diverted by the fact that vegans and vegetarians can feel like a small proportion of care home residents but we might counter this argument by noting the importance to the individual. A low incidence but a high impact set of issues.
Those numbers are growing, though. Last year, VfL’s survey of a thousand UK care homes found that there are now over 8,000 vegan and vegetarian care home residents, a 24 per cent increase in a decade. Nearly one in three care homes (31.8 per cent) now cater to at least one vegan or vegetarian resident. And the trend is only going in one direction. Earlier this year, we published the results of research conducted by Swansea University on behalf of VfL. They estimated that, within 6 years, vegetarian care home residents aged 65-plus could exceed 13,000, and 2,400 could be vegan (4 per cent and 0.7 per cent of total residents respectively).
As Chris Bonner, Executive Chef and Nutrition and Hydration Lead at care provider HC-One, puts it: "We’re spreading the message to our staff that it’s coming: veganism is coming. It’s becoming a part of life, and a lot of people are taking it on as a way of life."
Around 70 per cent of people living in care homes have dementia or severe memory problems. Ann’s mother is one of them:
My sister… demanded to see [a food chart] and that is when she found out Mum had been getting fed meat, pork, and fish.
Obviously, we were very angry and raised it with the care home. The reply was “mum was asking for meat and fish”. In other words, my mother was to carry the blame. My mother has never asked for meat, pork, and fish in over 70 years.
One thing I can assure you, if Mum was of sound mind, she would refuse point blank to eat meat. For mum that was a total and absolute non-negotiable.
This is why we ask care settings to sign up to our Memory Care Pledge, promising to uphold five key measures to ensure that vegetarian and vegan residents can continue living the rest of their lives the way they intended. Amanda Woodvine, Chief Executive of Vegetarian for Life, explains how it works:
The pledge asks care homes to commit to five simple good practice points. These involve giving residents options and making sure their opinions are sought and listened to. Establishments should consider how inclusive their catering is for celebrations – for example, providing a vegan birthday cake – and respecting how people want to eat as well as what they eat, for example on a meat-free table if possible. It’s also about being alert to the possibility of problems with cognition, and ensuring that these are handled in accordance with people’s deeply-held philosophical beliefs. Such recommendations are suggested because Vegetarian for Life is aware of vegetarian residents experiencing issues with capacity or cognition, who may otherwise pick meat from others’ plates.
Over 300 care homes have so far chosen to make the pledge – a number that is rising steadily as staff in each setting are trained individually. Chris Bonner is a strong supporter: ‘We see the Memory Care Pledge as being about making colleagues aware as to what has the biggest impact… [so that] people are supported to make their own life choices and continue to do that’.
Ultimately, all of us working in care want the same things. To support some of our most vulnerable citizens in having the best possible last months and years of their lives. For them to be able to live with dignity, their autonomy respected, in accordance with their deepest values and beliefs. For many people, diet is a core part of that – veganism and vegetarianism, but also religious diets – and that is only going to increase. Let’s give Ann the last word:
Mum is in the final years of her life, and we should have been enjoying the time we have left with her, not fighting a battle for her to get her a standard of care that would ensure her physical, mental well-being and safety.
That doesn’t seem a lot to ask.
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