The Lewy Body Society is delighted to announce the appointment of Rachel Thompson as the first ever Consultant Admiral Nurse for Lewy body dementia.

The new role represents the next stage in the charity’s partnership with Dementia UK, which runs the Admiral Nurse service and helpline.  Rachel will continue to be hosted by Dementia UK, but with the funding for her role provided by the Lewy Body Society, she will be working exclusively on Lewy body dementia for the next two years.   Her role will include supporting professionals working with people affected by Lewy body dementia, encouraging links between research and practice, and developing new materials.

Jacqueline Cannon, Chief Executive of the Lewy Body Society, said:

“We would like to welcome Rachel to the team. With her 30 years experience as a nurse, plus her expertise in delivering training and in developing services and tools for practitioners, we are sure she will make a big impact on care for people living with Lewy body dementia and their families.”

Rachel Thompson said:

“This role gives me a unique opportunity to help embed good practice in care and support those affected by Lewy body dementia, and connect the many professionals who are focusing on the disease. The Lewy Body Society is a small charity that makes a big difference in raising awareness and supporting research, and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Rachel can be contacted via email at rachel.thompson@dementiauk.org.

The Lewy Body Society supports the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline to ensure that anyone affected by Lewy body dementia can access specialist advice and support. You can call free on 0800 888 6678 from 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 5pm during the weekend or email helpline@dementiauk.org.

Full biography of Rachel Thompson 

Rachel Thompson RGN RMN MSc BA (Hons) PG Cert is the newly appointed Consultant Admiral Nurse for Lewy body dementia.  She was previously the Professional & Practice Development Lead for Admiral Nursing and before that the Dementia Lead at the Royal College of Nursing. She has worked as a nurse for over 30 years across a range of settings and first specialised in dementia care as an Admiral Nurse in 1999.

Rachel has been involved in delivering education and training, supporting practice development projects involving people with dementia and family carers and has published a number of articles on education and best practice in dementia. She also co-authored a book; Pulsford & Thompson (2019) ‘Dementia; Support for Family & Friends’ (second edition) and is an Honorary Lecturer at City University.