KATE Lennon has spent her whole career caring for people in the last days of their lives — but the hardest thing she has ever faced is caring for her own dad, who has dementia.

The mum-of-two is the chief executive at St Vincent's Hospice in Howwood, Renfrewshire, providing specialist palliative care to those living with life-limiting illnesses and, as a nurse consultant, has been caring for people for more than two decades.

As the charity Alzheimer Scotland marks Dementia Awareness Week (June 3-9), Kate has revealed how lack of support from health and social care services makes life even harder for those struggling to look after loved ones with such a diagnosis.

Her father James, 75, moved into permanent care two years ago, having been diagnosed two years earlier.

Before that Kate, 48, and her family had to take the agonising decision to admit him to hospital.

She said: "When someone with Alzheimer's is admitted to hospital it's pretty serious. There's usually something that's gone drastically wrong in the community.

"When my dad was admitted, it had got to crisis point, when mum and I couldn't cope. There was no help whatsoever to cope with the symptoms of the disease.

"Dementia for me now is like cancer was 30 years ago. It is taboo. We don't talk about it. There's a stigma.

" It sits under mental health as a social problem rather than a health one.

"I think there's a lack of awareness of how serious the consequences are if you have little understanding of the disease and how rapidly symptoms can escalate.

"You're so busy caring for the individual and trying to come to terms with the diagnosis that to deal with finance, welfare and so forth is difficult. My dad was 65 when he had some early symptoms. I didn't think for a second I'd be sitting here now saying that he's in care.

"He had his diagnosis four years ago and has been in care for two."

Kate's position – leading a team caring for people facing a range of terminal illnesses – gives her a unique insight into how dementia care could be better provided in the future.

And, based on her experience of caring for her dad, she thinks that hospices could have a vital role to play.

She added: "For 25 years as a professional I've cared for people – strangers – in the last years, weeks and months of their lives, and the one person I should be caring for, my dad, I can't because the services are not there.

"Renfrewshire, in particular, is so poorly served for support for carers and specialist units if someone does go into care with dementia.

"My vision for our hospice is to develop further services, day and night, and to care for more people affected by dementia like my dad.

"It's not just dementia, but Parkinson's disease and others.

"What I want to do is to set up a service of skilled carers, professionals, who can go out from here and be responsive to the needs of our community.

"We've got credibility in the community. I'd like to have a team that could go out and support carers.

"There's not a week goes by when I don't get a phone call from someone in the community caring for someone with dementia, looking for advice and help.

"Dementia is looked at as a social issue by local authorities. "It's not. It's an illness.

"Palliative care was and is still not available for us or my father and so sadly he was admitted into care far sooner that he needed to be.

"I absolutely believe that if the care that we provide at St Vincent's Hospice could be extended to people like my father he would have been at home far longer.

"The quality of his life would have been so much more than it is now."

This year, St Vincent's Hospice is celebrating 25 years of caring for people across the west of Scotland.

The charity is hoping to raise £1 million to help it care for future patients and families living with life-limiting illnesses.

The aim is that this 25th year brings celebration and financial stability to the hospice, and reaching its target would ensure it continues to operate in a difficult economic climate, and also set it up for further growth and development.

To donate or find out more about the hospice's fundraising events, such as this weekend's Challenge 25 duathlon cycle and trek around the Isle or Arran, visit www.stvincentshospice.co.uk.

ewan.fergus@ eveningtimes.co.uk

DEMENTIA is the progressive loss of the powers of the brain. There are many kinds but the most common is Alzheimer's disease.

About 60% of people with dementia have Alzheimer's while 17% have vascular dementia, caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain.

Alzheimer Scotland is Scotland's leading specialist dementia charity and works to improve the lives of everyone affected by the disease, providing information, support and a network of services from more than 60 sites around Scotland.

Henry Simmons, chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, said: "Everyone will know someone living with dementia. Great progress has been made in starting to draw dementia out of the shadows.

"However, we must ensure that people with dementia, their carers, partners and families are treated as equal and valued citizens within our local communities.

"No-one should have to go through dementia on their own. We can all do something to help people with dementia live better with this illness.

"We are hugely grateful to the many individuals, groups and companies who support our work. We have a serious challenge ahead, given the scale of predicted increase in the number of people with dementia. We will need everyone's help if we are to meet and overcome this challenge. Dementia Awareness Week allows us to focus everyone's effort towards this vital cause, but we need dedication and a passion for change 365 days a year to make a difference."

The charity provides a 24-hour national freephone Dementia Helpline: 0808 808 3000. To find out more visit www.alzscot.org.