David thompson reports on a recent conference on services for people with down’s syndrome and dementia and looks at the wider picture

Kathleen Fray had Down’s syndrome and later developed dementia. Her sister Margaret had cared for Kathleen for over 30 years prior to her hospital admission, and continued to play a large part in her care right up until Kathleen’s death, four years ago (Fray 2000). ‘The nurses at both hospitals told me that they had never before nursed a patient with the combined disabilities Kathleen had developed,’ said Margaret Fray. ‘They asked me to help them, and I was there every day. I still see some of those nurses now, and they often say: “We learned from you, didn’t we?”’