Share this page >
The amazing Norman McNamara (who founded the Torbay Dementia Action Alliance) has once again agreed to write for Ostrich about his fight with dementia. This time he talks about how he thinks emergency call centres should deal with customers suffering from dementia. Norrms' key points below come from a talk he made to the staff in our GPS call centre (to be launched in December), and we thought we would share them with our readers. [introduction revised on 15/11/2013 for clarity]
Ten second delay (at least)
When explaining things to someone with dementia please allow for what we call a ‘ten second delay’ as sometimes it takes this time to process the information they have just been told and make sense of it. Patience must be a priority!
Repetitiveness
It's well documented that people with dementia repeat themselves, sometimes over and over again. However, with a little understanding and patience, even though it seems they are not making any sense and getting their words mixed up, they could be telling you something important. If you listen very carefully, sometimes they say the same word over and over again intermittently. An example of this in a care home environment, where you may hear them saying “hungry” or toilet”, “cold”, “hot” or in “pain”.
The same would apply when you are asking them where they are, they might say bus, train, supermarket, park, moors etc. It would be their way of letting you know where they are.
Talking clearly
It is so important to be clear, concise and talk slowly when speaking with a person suffering from dementia. Speak in short sentences, in a friendly manner, and be upbeat and inspirational. If any call centre staff have yourselves ever undergone any Management Coaching Training (I always say I wrote the book!) you will know what I mean. If you haven’t, please take a look at it, it would help you immensely.
Mannerisms
Be careful not to speak to people with dementia as if they are children, it is very easily done unfortunately, and not always meant that way. Sometimes, with the best will in the world you can still find yourself doing this, and even when no harm is meant by it, it can be so disparaging to those with this disease. Imagine if someone was speaking to you like that just because you had a heart defect! No difference.
Do your homework
Please try and remember to be fully aware of what stage the person with dementia is in before engaging with them on where they are, how they are etc. Obviously, as the SOS button goes off, you may not have a lot of time, but please take your time to bring up the records on the screen in front of you. This will stop so much frustration on both sides and also save so much time, and possibly someone’s life. What stage of dementia the person is suffering from, their age, and their ability, will depend on what kind of assistance you will be able to give them.
Norrms McNamara - Diagnosed with dementia 6 years ago and still fighting it!
Thank you to everyone
Can I just say a huge thank you to all concerned with this and all those involved in making this dream come true! For someone like myself, diagnosed with this awful disease, something like this was a mere pipe dream just a few months ago, thank you so much for helping my dream come true.
Norrms and Elaine
xxxxxxxxxxx
Comments Post a comment
This is great Norm! Will pass on to all I can.
How about turning this round?
I realise your comments are directed to call centres, but most of us struggle with call centres whether we suffer from dementia or not.
Perhaps we need to remember that there's no way a call centre operative can know whether someone on the end of the line is a person with dementia or not.
Perhaps this could be revised to say ".... If a call centre operative realises that the person on the end of the line is (a) reticent; or (b) repeating themselves; or (c) just not able to keep up with you and whatever you're saying ..... .... then perhaps you need to consider whether the person is suffering from a problem that you may not be aware of, such as dementia, and you need to slow down, listen and just think about it all and adjust your delivery and your compassion.
Treat all your customers with the same respect, and adjust your responses to suit your customers."
After all, there really is no way that a call centre operative can know that the caller is suffering from dementia. Equally, not all people presenting the same problems are suffering from dementia. They may have other problems.
I'm afraid I find this article ridiculous.
It's ludicrous to suggest that call centre staff could be able to identify dementia and respond accordingly.
How the heck is a call centre to know what the other person on the phone has by way of problems? The call centre staff don't have superhuman powers. Or are you suggesting that dementia is the only problem people have? Dementia is not the only disability in the world and there are more people without dementia than there are with dementia. Get real, please.
Most of us who have to deal with call centres have problems communicating with them. Often the problem is with the fact that we can't understand a word said by the call centre staff, who are just reading from a screen and following the words written on the screen.
It's nothing to do with dementia, and to suggest that a call centre should be able to make allowances for a dementia that they can't see or hear or diagnose, is beyond belief. If a caller is likely to say "I have dementia so please treat me nicely" then OK, treat them nicely.
Sorry folks, but this article is not realistic.
I whole heartedly agree with Liz.
This is a sham, and should be exposed as such. If you lot really care about people with Dementia, then let people that know what they are talking about from a care point-of-view talk to them.
This is in no way a reflection on Mr. McNamara who has done such good work, but rather a reflection on a so-called 'care' company that are anything but!
I read this blog and thought it was directed at call centres such as those we have to talk to at banks and energy companies! Made no sense to me at all. How would they be able to detect whether a person has dementia or indeed access health records on a screen?
I've just realised this blog might be about emergency call centres (hence reference to SOS buttons?) who are monitoring GPS systems???? But wouldn't the staff monitoring GPS systems be properly trained in this respect? I don't get this article, sorry.
I don't understand this blog at all.
Ten second delay? Meaningless comment because it takes most of us more than ten seconds to respond to any call centre comments.
Talking clearly? That should be a basic requirement for all call centre staff, whether or not they're talking to someone who MAY have a dementia, even tho' as others have said there's no way the call centres can know what disability the person they're talking to may or may not have. The other caller may be tired, bored or pissed as a newt - for all the call centre knows. Nowt to do with dementia.
Mannerisms? I do not understand this bit at all. I've read it several times but I still don't understand what you're talking about. Apart from the fact that nobody in a call centre should talk to anyone as if they're children. They've no way of knowing the age of the person they're talking to, and many call centre staff are almost-children, so perhaps we should forgive them for that mannerism.
I didn't notice the 'SOS button' bit until Jen pointed it out. Thank you to Jen for making me read it all again. The section about 'doing your homework' sounds like it was written by a very inexperienced trainee GPS call centre person as their own homework!! Did you really write this Mr McNamara? I don't think so.
Yes this article is about people who work in the specialised call centres that handle SOS calls from people who have pressed their alarm button, or otherwise have alerted the call centre. n
Thank you Sandra Currie for clarifying this. I take it from the assurance you are able to give about this piece, that you work at Ostrich, because it certainly wasn't clear from the blog piece who this was directed to.
I still don't understand why this is posted here - if it's destined for the call centres that will be handling the GPS systems that are about to be made available by Ostrich.
Will the call centre staff not already have been trained appropriately? If they are 'specialised call centres that handle SOS calls' surely they must be fully trained.
Are the Ostrich GPS call centres any different from any other call centre? How will the Ostrich GPS call centre staff be selected and trained?
Hello!
Is there anybody from Ostrich who can comment on the above.
Is Ostrich monitoring this blog so that questions can be answered by Ostrich?
Weise ist wer nicht vergisst, dass er selber komisch ist.
Hier steh ich nun, ich armer Tor, und bin so klug als wie zuvor.
Reden ist Silber. Schweigen ist Gold. Rough translation: a shut mouth catches no flies.
I'm gobsmacked - and that's putting it mildly. Gobsmacked by the way you've changed this blog and moved the goalposts. That's very unprofessional and extremely juvenile of the Ostrich
Your intro to this blog has changed since I wrote to it at 18:52 on 29 Oct 2013. A few weeks on and you've moved the starting blocks, in the very best interests of the Ostrich. You've made all subsequent commentators appear stupid for not having taken on board that this was all about talking to 'emergency GPS call centres'. Emergency call centre staff who may know that the person at the heart of the call is a dementia sufferer.
Will all of your emergency GPS call centres really really really be aware of whether or not the person calling them has dementia? Come on - get real!
Sandra Currie seems to have been the only person 'in the know' as to what this blog was all about. Ho0w did Sandra Currie know when others of us were left wondering?
You must make sure that you don't amend your blogs after the publication date, unless you explain and date your reasons. Otherwise the ostrich will be seen to be sticking its head in the sand, without being able to see what's going on above ground.
Post a comment
Please sign in to leave comments. Ostrich reserve the right to not publish or remove comments at their discretion.