23 November 2021

Ablen Dacalos is the Dementia lead nurse for all Frimley Health sites, ensuring that dementia patients who come into hospital receive the very best care.

Ablen originally qualified as a nurse in the Philippines and worked in an Emergency Department for two years before being interviewed by Frimley Health and flown to the UK to start his UK nursing career in 2002.

Dementia care wasn’t always Ablen’s first choice of career pathway, but after managing an acute elderly care ward for more than five years, he found learning to understand dementia and its effects really interesting. He also found real reward in learning to manage challenging behaviours often displayed by dementia patients.

He said: “This passion drove me into going down the dementia pathway. I was really fortunate when the opportunity arose for the Trust to invest in a dementia nurse specialist.”

Ablen initially didn’t see himself becoming a nurse when he was younger. He said “I have always been creative and into art. Dementia nursing has helped me nurture this hobby as I can use my creative passion to find ways to entertain and stimulate dementia patients.

“It’s not always about hands on clinical care with dementia patients. I can channel my creativeness into designing activities and programmes for staff and patients to complete together. It’s an aspect of the job I really enjoy.”

Ablen has now spent a number of years developing Frimley Health’s dementia service. Going forward he hopes to take some time to develop himself professionally by continuing his training and hopefully becoming a nurse consultant in the near future.

He said: “When you decide to do nursing always remember nursing is a huge field. It’s not just hands on, around a bedside work. It doesn’t matter whether you’re academic, or more creative like myself, explore all your options and find what’s right for you, because there is something for everyone.”