Dementia awareness: a truly fascinating morning

Yesterday morning (following a brief TV interview with Buckingham University journalism students outside the Old Gaol), I spent a fascinating few hours in the Library talking with people about dementia and the services available to assist people who are affected it by it.

I learnt lots! So here goes with a brief summary:

1 in every 14 of the population aged 65 years and over currently have dementia. The number of people with dementia in the UK is forecast to increase to over 1 million by 2025. In other words this is an issue that is not going to go away and is likely to touch the lives of everyone reading this blog, if not already.

Dementia is a generic term for a range of (over a 100) diseases that can affect the brain. Given that the brain controls almost all of what we do and think, this means that dementia is not just about losing memories, it can be about losing lots of other kinds of functions that we just take for granted. Dementia is a progressive disease of the brain: people don't get better, they only get worse (albeit in different ways and with different speeds which can be helped with some treatments)

And perhaps the biggest message for me from the 1 hour workshop on becoming a 'Dementia Friend' was the need to show patience, understanding and basic kindness towards everyone and especially those who may be in the early or later stages of dementia.

I learnt about the plans to make Buckingham a Dementia Friendly Town. This is being coordinated by Eileen Winston, pictured here with Town Councillor (and past Mayor) Mike Smith and County Councillor Warren Whyte.

If you would like to get involved in this project, you can contact Eileen on Buckinghamdaa@gmail.com. Please do: all volunteers welcome!

The Alzheimer's Society were present of course (Alzheimer's is one type of dementia) and were promoting lots of helpful information. Here I am with Sam Marshall, Befriending Manager (in the middle) and Nicole Palmer (Services Manager).

The Fire Service has a huge role to play in the ensuring the safety of people who have dementia and their families. I have some personal experience of this with my Mum in Pembrokeshire and I have been thoroughly impressed with the response of the Fire Service there to my Mum's needs. From the conversation I had with Alison Still (see below) who is the Community Safety Coordinator with Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, I am confident that people locally can expect an excellent service too.

And of course, here is an obligatory pic of me with a fire engine (with Colin Partridge, Firefighter)!

Dementia is not just for older people either! Below is a pic of the exhibition brought along by pupils of Buckingham School with, Vikki Lane, Receptionist and Laura Walker, Administrator. The pupils had a presentation recently in the school and what you can see below are what the children took on board from this presentation. Fantastic work!

And here is the work in close up:

And I finished off the morning with Graham White who ran the Dementia Friends session and is also the Community Links officer for the County Council. He helps run 'Prevention Matters' described as a "free service aimed to help people avoid the need for increasing health and social care support". Information about the service is available here. Here is Graham.

I am sure I did not speak to everyone, so my apologies to those I did not get around to having a conversation with. All in all a fantastic event that will stay with me for a long time.

I will finish this blog with the five key messages of being a Dementia Friend:

1. Dementia is not a natural part of ageing
2. Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain
3. Dementia is not just about losing your memory - it can affect thinking, communicating and doing everyday tasks
4. It is possible to live well with dementia
5. There is more to a person than the dementia