The Royal British Legion Admiral Nurses, in partnership with Dementia UK, offer specialist support, information and advice to the carers of people living with dementia within the Armed Forces community.

Helen Buckley has supported communities across South Wales since September 2017 and has been a mental health nurse for over 17 years. Helen was inspired to become an Admiral Nurse after her own personal experience of dementia, when she was the main carer for her grandmother who suffered with vascular dementia.

There are 25 Admiral Nurses employed by The Royal British Legion working across the UK to support some of the most complex cases, providing practical, clinical and emotional support to help families face dementia.

The money raised from M&S’s 2018 Poppy Collection will go towards funding The Royal British Legion (RBL) Admiral Nurses. The retailer has partnered with RBL since 2009 and is the exclusive high street seller of the collection, which includes brooches, pins and earrings.

Helen said:

“I was the main carer for my grandmother who suffered with vascular dementia, so I know first-hand how valuable providing support to the carers is when caring for someone with dementia.

“All Admiral Nurses are qualified nurses, be it a Mental Health Nurse, General Nurse or Occupational Therapist. We are able to facilitate a care pathway for the person living with dementia, but mainly for the carer.

“Our main goal is to empower the carer to continue in their role providing support to their loved one whilst maintaining their own wellbeing.

“Practically we complete a holistic assessment of everyone we see and the support we offer will vary from case to case, due to the uniqueness of each case – there may be similarities, but no two cases are the same.

“Our support can be in relation to mental health and wellbeing, finances, education and most importantly for the carers to have – time for self.”

About The Royal British Legion Admiral Nurses

There are 229 Admiral Nurses in the UK, working on some of the most complex cases and providing one-to-one practical, clinical and emotional support to help families face dementia with more confidence and less fear
Dementia UK continually supports, develops and trains Admiral Nurses, ensuring that families affected by dementia can have someone truly expert and caring by their side
The Royal British Legion is the biggest employer of Admiral Nurses in the UK with 25 Nurses working across Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Hampshire and South Wales
RBL Admiral Nurses are directly supported by your donations, including money raised through the Poppy Appeal

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The Royal British legion and M&S partnership

M&S are again this year the exclusive high street retailer of the Poppy Collection with all profits donated to the Legion which includes brooches, pins, earrings, lapel pin and cufflinks. Last year alone these products raised over £1m.
Since 2012, the Poppy Collection® on sale at M&S has raised almost £5m for the Legion. The 2018 range is now available to buy and features the iconic Poppy Colletion® Sparkle Brooch
Products range from £3.50 – £45 and are available in stores and online on the M&S website