BABY KATE WITH COUSIN ANN

thought I had left Brian in capable hands and went to work while he had the procedure. Except he didn’t.

Left on his own with the consultant, Brian was unable to confirm his date of a birth — not unusual with victims of dementia — and the consultant refused to proceed.

It meant she was unable to fill in the necessary forms, she said, and that was that.

It was a classic example of bureaucracy triumphing over common sense.

Sadly, it is not just our overworked NHS failing to address the needs of people with dementia. Our care system is equally broken.

After Brian’s condition severely deteriorated in July 2016, we moved him to Laurel Dene Care Home in Hampton, Middlesex.

I wrongly chose it because it looked like a smart hotel, costing almost £1,250 a week.

But it did not give Brian the personal attention he craved, often leaving him holed up in his room in the evenings and at weekends.

He became increasingly dishevelled and, after 11 months, when I took him out to lunch one time, he smelt overwhelmingly of urine. At one point, as we walked down the street, his sodden incontinence pad fell off him and