Whether to Travel

Visits out for pleasure can be great fun and a change of scenery for both of you, but in later stages of dementia may be more stressful to your loved one than the good it does, so keep an eye on that. If the travelling is too stressful then consider bringing a friend to see them instead.

Similarly, for some health appointments it may be possible to arrange for a home visit instead, if your loved one has great difficulty travelling. Obviously there are times a home visit won't be possible at all, because of the equipment or medical specialist needed, and at other times a home visit may be possible but you have to weigh up the difficulty travelling against the access to better equipment.

In the UK, when requesting a home visit on the NHS you may be asked whether your loved one ever goes out. If the answer is they've travelled to a cancer clinic because there was no option, but that travelling was extremely difficult or distressing for them, then make that clear - just saying 'yes' may make them think you're not eligible for a home visit for something else.