Case Study - Managing medication for Val

Lucy cares for her mum, Val, who has early onset dementia with rapid deterioration of memory. Val was taking lots of medication and due to her memory problems, was either over dosing or not taking her medication at the right time. There was a serious incident where overdosing on Warfarin, could have led to blood loss if she had cut herself. Lucy was so worried that she took all Val's medication away and hand delivered it herself at the correct time. Val also needed weekly hospital visits due to fluctuations in her condition.

Solution

Val was given a Tunstall medication dispenser, linked to a Lifeline home unit which dispenses her tablets and provides audible and visual alerts each time Val needs to take her medication. If Val doesn't access her medication, an alert is raised to Lucy or the monitoring centre to let her know.
Val's condition has stabilised and she only needs monthly hospital visits.

"It's such a relief, knowing that mum is taking the right medication at the right
time, I've even been able to have a short holiday for the first time in years." - Lucy

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