Ruth Langsford says 'I feel doubly bad' as family worries are 'always in back of my mind'

Ruth Langsford has admitted that her mum Joan's struggles with Alzheimer's disease are "always in the back of my mind". 94-year-old Joan lives in a care home, but Ruth, 65, handles all of her personal needs, including attending medical appointments with her mum, and facilitating any shopping requests.

In an exclusive interview to discuss her collaboration with Amazon and UK charity Dementia Carers Count, who have partnered up to create an Alexa guide for carers, the Loose Women presenter said she frequently gets plagued with guilt if she ever forgets any of her responsibilities while looking after her beloved mum.

Ruth explained: "It's always in the back of my mind. I mean, I am fortunate that her care home is literally around the corner from me, and I can see the roof of her care home through my bedroom window.

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"And I always know… I was on holiday recently, I know she's been well looked after, I don't worry. But she's always in the back of my mind anyway, with whatever I'm doing really.

"I take her flowers every week, I pick flowers from the garden. If I’m out and I see something and I think, 'oh mum would like that,' or I’ll get her that gardening magazine – she doesn't really read anymore, but she likes the pictures.

"So when it's someone you love, they're always on your mind really, whatever you're doing, and that's a good thing, I like her to be on my mind."

However, Ruth admitted that she feels an additional pressure to take care of her mum, as she is now her only daughter, after her sister, Julia, tragically died in 2019.

She continued: "But it's the responsibility thing. I don't have my sister anymore, sadly, and so I feel that kind of... if I forget to make her dental appointment, I feel doubly bad than if I'd forgotten my own dental appointment, and I think, ‘that’s so bad, I’m such a bad daughter’."

Fortunately, the ITV favourite has found that utilising her Amazon Alexa has made things easier, as the device and accompanying apps allow her to set audio and visual reminders for appointments, and also help her to stay organised with shopping lists.

Ruth added: "You can put something in your diary, which I often do, but unless you look at the diary… I’ll see it [too late], and then think, ‘oh gosh, will I get back from work on time?’ So to have that reminder and set reminders, I think would be very, very helpful."

The mum-of-one, who shares son Jack with her estranged husband Eamonn Holmes, is very keen to raise awareness of the difficulties that unpaid carers face on a daily basis while looking after their loved ones.

She shared: "When I read about this campaign I thought, any little thing that can help somebody who's a carer in any way, whether it makes life quicker, easier, whether they just feel more supported, whether they feel less alone – it can be very lonely – then it’s a good thing.

"The things that really stood out to me are being able to add things to the shopping list, the calendar, and the reminders, because I'm a very busy person and we know a lot of carers have jobs, maybe have children, and they have a parent or loved one who needs help, and it's a lot of plate spinning, and it's a lot of responsibility, and you forget things.

"So if something pops into my head, I think, 'gosh, I must remember to book a dental appointment for my mum,' I can just say it out loud – 'Alexa, remind me to book a dentist appointment for mum, Alexa, please add shower gel and toothpaste to my shopping list for mum', and it's just done, and I know it's done.

"And actually, with the shopping list, if you've got the app, the list is on your phone. So anything like that just makes life easier for somebody who's caring, and they say there's 700,000 people (unpaid, may I say) carers in the UK, and you have no training, it's just really difficult for people."

Further functionalities and an in-depth guide can be found on www.dementiacarers.org.uk/amazonalexa.