Friends sessions to help dementia families

STUART PIKE

ASERIES of three ‘dementia friends’ sessions will be held in the Valley to raise awareness of living with the condition.

Dementia champion Charlotte Brown is organising the sessions at The Surgery in Manchester Road, Haslingden as part of Dementia Awareness Week from May 14-20.

She has undergone training from the Alzheimer’s Society to assist patients living with dementia and their carers.

Charlotte, 29, said her role as care co-ordinator ●● Dementia friends champion Charlotte Brown makes her the first point of contact for the families and carers of someone living with dementia.

She added: “The carer has usually known the patient for many years and suddenly, within a few months, the person they know can begin to behave differently to how they have always been and this can be very upsetting for the carer.

“I want to encourage families of people who are living with dementia to seek help.”

She explained how one couple had been to see the GP, but the husband would not agree to a memory test.

She said: “When they came to see me, we had a discussion over an hour during which time I took blood tests and an ECG and I was able to talk to them both. The husband has now agreed to go for the tests.

“Doctors have only 10 minutes to get all the information discussed whereas I can take more time.”

Another carer was struggling to get her husband, who is living with dementia, to have a bath and she was concerned about his feet. Charlotte suggested using a foot spa while her husband was watching TV and the solution worked.

A carer asked for respite and Charlotte was able to arrange for the patient to go into a daycare centre.

At The Surgery there are currently 42 patients diagnosed with dementia and a further 23 have been referred to memory ser- vices and are awaiting an appointment.

Charlotte has shared her training with The Surgery’s Patient Participation Group (PPG) to create more dementia friends. PPG chairman Bernadette Cottam said: “We have introduced this position very early because it is one of our practice’s priorities. Dementia affects so many people, not just the person living with it, but their carers and family. In the future it is going to be one of the biggest drains on the health service.”

To book a place on a Dementia Friends course visit www.dementiafriends.org.uk