Dementia Action Week - Our May Focus
Dementia action week is a major leadership, awareness and advocacy campaign for people living with dementia, their families, and carers.
Dementia Action Week - Our May Focus
Dementia action week is a major leadership, awareness and advocacy campaign for people living with dementia, their families, and carers. Launched by The Alzheimer’s Society, and according to their official website, dementia diagnosis rates have stagnated, many are facing dementia alone, without access to the vital support that a diagnosis can bring.
This Dementia Action Week we’re encouraging individuals and their families to seek a timely diagnosis and avoid reaching crisis point.
Getting a diagnosis can be daunting, but we believe it’s better to know. And so do 91% of people living with dementia.
This year, Dementia Action Week will be held from May 13th to 19th May.
The week is all about supporting those affected by dementia and making the UK a dementia friendly place. We are hoping to bring people together within the community under a unified theme to raise awareness about dementia and encourage action. Dementia care is complex and needs to be individually tailored. Our goal is to raise awareness, reduce stigma and empower people to take action.
We have invested in a project to raise awareness on dementia with the ‘Virtual Dementia Tour Bus’. This is a unique experience that can give an insight into what dementia might be like by using specialist equipment and creating a simulated environment.
We are hosting this event on Monday the 13th May 2024 as part of National Dementia Awareness week. Supporting people in the community with Dementia has made us acutely aware of the day-to-day challenges that clients and their families face. We are passionate about providing outstanding care, and education and training are at the heart of this.
We offered the Virtual Tour bus to our Care Professionals first, and had an overwhelming response! This worldwide, scientifically, and medically proven method of giving a person an experience of what dementia might be like, allows delegates to enter the world of the person and understand which simple changes need to be made to their routine and environment to really improve lives of people with dementia.
The Mayor of Taunton, Nick O’Donnell and the local MP, Rebecca Pow, alongside local PCSO’s and representatives from College Way Surgery will also be attending in the hopes to spread awareness even more within the local community.
By walking in the shoes of someone with dementia, we can start to understand the issues they experience every day. Our Care Professionals and guests will experience being confused, isolated, lost, intimated, vulnerable, and so much more and therefore understand what we need to change to improve the quality of care we provide.
We will also be providing refreshments, have a representative from Alzheimer’s Society and demonstrations throughout the event. There will be opportunity to complete additional training and answer any questions there may be about dementia.
We have also pledged to raise awareness by handing out 1000 ‘Dementia Symptom Checklists’ to members of the public to stimulate knowledge and address under diagnosis. You can download a PDF of this checklist at the end of this blog.(Please note that the dementia symptoms checklist created by Alzheimer’s Society. It is not intended to diagnose dementia or other health conditions as everyone experiences dementia in their own way. The checklists includes common signs of dementia but there could be underlying reasons for any changes you’ve noticed. It is always best to talk to your GP about any concerns you have indicated on the checklist.)
We can’t wait to share with you throughout May the outcome of our Dementia Action Week, a subject very close to our hearts here at Home Instead Taunton and West Somerset.
Dementia Symptoms Checklist
Dementia symptoms checklist created by Alzheimer’s Society. It is not intended to diagnose dementia or other health conditions as everyone experiences dementia in their own way. The checklists includes common signs of dementia but there could be underlying reasons for any changes you’ve noticed. It is always best to talk to your GP about any concerns you have indicated on the checklist.