175: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill and guest Martha Pusey175: The 'D' Word with Pete Hill and guest Martha Pusey
UK Health Radio Podcast
Pete Hill talks with Martha Pusey about using storytelling and co‑production to make dementia care more person‑centred. The conversation looks at practical tools for staff, the value of activities, and the wider gaps in dementia strategy and support.
35:36•10 Jul 2026
Keeping the Person in Dementia: Martha Pusey on Stories, Care and Co‑production
Episode Overview
- Personal stories can make care more meaningful and help staff truly understand the person behind the dementia diagnosis.
- Simple tools like conversation starters and visual ‘about me’ posters can help staff quickly build rapport in busy care settings.
- Co‑production, involving people living with dementia and carers, can reshape research and services to reflect what people actually want.
- Activities coordinators contribute vital, often unrecorded, work and need better recognition, training and protection from budget cuts.
- The lack of a clear dementia strategy and consistent education leaves many families feeling they “fall off a cliff” after diagnosis.
“There is always me in the middle of dementia.”
What drives someone to seek a more human approach to dementia care? This conversation between host Pete Hill and guest Martha Pusey puts the spotlight firmly on the person behind the diagnosis. Martha, who has stepped away from hands-on care work to study for a Master’s and now a doctorate in dementia, talks about how storytelling can change everyday practice in care settings.
She recalls starting out as a "tea girl" at 15, spending weekends listening to life stories from residents like Winnie. Those early chats, fuelled by photos and memories, shaped her belief that care is at its best when staff truly know the person they’re supporting. You’ll hear Martha explain how time pressure and lack of training can stop staff from even starting those vital conversations.
She shares practical ideas from a storytelling resource pack, including simple conversation starters and visual "about me" posters with photos and key places, helping busy or agency staff quickly connect with people who have dementia. A big part of the discussion centres on co-production – involving people living with dementia in designing services and research.
Martha describes working with a team of people with dementia and care professionals, whose input changed her project from staff training towards tools that actually help capture stories in activities and day services. The episode also touches on wider system issues: patchy dementia strategies, under-valued activity coordinators, weak measurement of wellbeing, funding gaps, and the struggle many families face after diagnosis.
Through it all, Martha keeps returning to a favourite reminder: "There is always me in the middle of dementia" – a line that sums up the whole conversation. If you care for someone with dementia, work in social care, or just want to understand why stories matter as much as medication, this one might get you thinking about the questions you ask and how you listen.
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