Dementia awareness help
MORE than 500 volunteers at East Cheshire Hospice are being given the chance to learn more about dementia and its everyday effects.
The charity will provide volunteers with one-hour Dementia Friends awareness sessions, designed by the Alzheimer’s Society, over the next 12 months.
The hospice is marking Dementia Awareness Week (May 14 to 20) by committing to increasing awareness of the disease in this way.
More than 6,000 people in Cheshire East have been diagnosed with dementia, according to most recent figures. Dementia is an umbrella term and the most common forms are Alzheimer’s and Vascular dementia.
The sessions, which 32 volunteers and most staff have already attended, will be run by Dementia Champions, including Volunteer Co-ordinator Helena Smith and Claire Halsey, Service Lead for the hospice’s Community Dementia Companion Service.
Claire said: “We’re very committed to becoming dementia aware. There’s an enormous need and I’m sure that, on top of the official figures, there are many other local people who haven’t yet come to the attention of health services who are in need.
“It’s predicted that one in four of us will die of dementia, so it’s vital that regardless of who we meet in our lives in or outside the hospice, we’re aware and able to understand the difficulties this brings.
“The Dementia Friends sessions teach us that this disease affects more than just memory and can cause problems with visual perception, speech, language and other areas. For many this is surprising as typically dementia is associated mainly with memory loss or confusion.
“For example, people with dementia might be reluctant to go into a bathroom with a blue floor because they perceive it as water and think it may be slippery or wet.
“A black mat outside a shop or front door can appear as a hole so they wouldn’t step on it.”
Volunteers who attend Dementia Friends courses will also be invited to make a pledge to do something to help those with dementia. The public can find out more Dementia Friends courses via dementiafriends.org. uk.
Helena said: “Some volunteers have had significant experience of dementia through various experiences, but the majority know little or nothing about it because it hasn’t affected them yet, though it probably will through someone close.
“The sessions will be held at different locations. They’re fast, punchy and a great way to change perception and understanding quickly and efficiently to get that information out into the community.
“Awareness of dementia is rising all the time and discussed far more than five or 10 years ago when perhaps people didn’t think it’d affect them.
“Since becoming a Dementia Friend I’m personally more aware of the effect of dementia and, for example, I’m more patient if someone is a little slower ahead of me in the supermarket checkout as I realise dementia may be causing this.”
East Cheshire Hospice’s commitment to dementia care already includes courses for carers and community dementia companion services.
Volunteers play a huge part in these services and anyone interested in volunteering can find out more from Helena Smith on 01625 610364.