Beth would not take ‘no’ or ‘can’t’ for an answer and challenged the team in every department to take the same approach. As a result, the whole team have been upskilled. The senior team has not only learnt what good leadership looks like, but now live and breathe it! The peer-to-peer training that Beth has designed with staff is now embedded to ensure that standards continue to rise.
Through those years she has helped me to progress and understand dementia and her knowledge and personal experience have been invaluable. She has helped solve problems and come up with ideas to support residents living with dementia. Beth’s guidance in assisting us to set up life story work has helped us to understand and communicate more effectively with our residents. Beth has also supported us to enable our residents to have a better mealtime experience and helped us to create meaningful activities. She has supported and trained me to deliver numerous courses to staff, including Wellbeing, Key Working and Life Story training. I thank Beth for all that she has done, her support and knowledge over the past two years has been invaluable to all of our staff and residents.
Her knowledge, experience and expertise in dementia is second-to-none, and because of Beth’s personal experience she is able to be relatable to staff and practical with her ideas and solutions. Beth is an extremely valued member of the team (Rosie and Rachel are really very fond of her), and so has a skill at building long-lasting meaningful relationships that are appreciated. In addition, Beth’s work ethic is impeccable. Any piece of work undertaken is always produced to the highest of standards. It really is a pleasure to work alongside her. I trust any task given to her and know that it will be completed to the highest quality with reputable references that are eminent in current best practice and thinking.
Beth has a wealth of experience both personal and academically, and really takes the time to listen to you.
Her experience of supporting her father, who was living with dementia, and her professional background, give her unparalleled insight into effective ways of campaigning for change.
She has taught me to reflect after each shift and try to do better next time. Through this experience my leadership has improved, such as organising staff and sharing responsibilities. Beth gave me the necessary resources and knowledge to develop myself and the team.
She has worked with our team for over 18 months, challenging our practice and culture; stripping away the veneer of our understanding around personalisation and dementia care, strengthening and rebuilding the foundation stones of our service so that now our dementia journey is brighter, bolder and clearer. Brighter outcomes for all those we support living with a dementia; bolder staff, bolder environments, bolder resources, bolder management and a clear vision of how great dementia care should look, sound, taste and feel – thank you Beth!
Her personal experience, commitment and understanding challenge us all to do better.
It was a good opportunity to share experiences, and has given me ideas of things we can do in our services to reduce the risk of falls.
It has made me more confident in talking to staff about supporting people with pain and distress, and more confident in challenging health professionals. Beth’s knowledge really supported me in understanding this topic. The session was fabulous.
She brings a clarity of thought and originality of ideas which I have always found very refreshing and helpful when considerations and discussions of the importance of people with dementia and their carers are concerned. She has a unique writing style and a gifted ability to convey ideas and experiences.
She has helped us in our own work to raise awareness and deepen understanding, and we are delighted that Beth has become an ambassador for BRACE.
She has managed to interlink her personal experiences with a growing professional authority the result of which is a passionate voice, speaking out for people with dementia and their families. It is this powerful combination that has enabled Beth to develop our approach, continually influence and critically appraise the work that MacIntyre has undertaken in the area of dementia over the past few years.
End of Life is a very difficult subject, but was made easier with open learning, listening to what we do well and our experiences. The learning will better equip me to share this experience with my teams and the people I support, use resources, and will be part of my own personal reflection. Thank you Beth.
