This debate today is really important. I think every family in this country will to some degree have experienced dementia and the difficulties and challenges people face when they get that diagnosis. I have a lot of personal experience with it. My father had vascular dementia, my father-in-law had Alzheimer's and my mother-in-law also has vascular dementia. I know how difficult it is from the point when you get the diagnosis and how scary it is. Not just the person who got the diagnosis but their family are trying to navigate what it means for them, what care is available, when they will need the care, what kind of care and how the disease can be slowed down. It is a very scary journey. For the person with the diagnosis and sometimes the families as well, it is a very lonely journey and it can be quite a confusing one. It is really important that no matter what stage of that journey someone is at, the right supports are available. What is needed at early onset is very different from what is needed at later stages. It is important we remember that. We were really lucky; we managed to keep Dad at home and he passed at home. We were very blessed for that, but I have seen and experienced that residential care is sometimes really good and sometimes it is not so good. As a family member, when you walk away from the doors of a nursing home, a lot of the time you do not know what is happening behind the doors. When you leave a loved one behind you in those homes, you do not know. They cannot tell you what is going on. The quality of nursing care and governance is just so important. As a family member, you wonder if the person is getting care, whether they are being fed properly and whether they are being looked after. There is no visibility. There is a dementia care home in Shankill that a lot of people from my constituency use, St. Joseph's. It is incredible. I visited it recently. You walk in and the place is bright and friendly, there are no smells and everyone is really happy and content. When we were going into a room, a staff member said, "When I go in, I have to talk to every person in this room." That is a rule there. The staff do not go into a room without engaging with every single person. It is simple things like that. The home has a volunteer programme, with 120 people volunteering to paint murals, hold day centres and serve coffees. It is fabulous but they get no funding for it. It is all fundraising. I ask the Minister of State to look into that. It is a really important and valuable part of the service it provides.

Sentiment score: 0.14