Care UK does its bit for Dementia Action Week

Company news

May 18, 2018

With Dementia Action Week fast approaching, Care UK homes across the country are running activities to help build awareness of this disease.

Dementia Action Week is taking place this year from 21 to 29 May. There are 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over one million in the next seven years. As yet, there is no cure on the horizon for this common condition, so numbers affected are expected to soar to two million by 2051.

The Alzheimer’s Society is calling on everyone to take action this month to improve the everyday lives of people affected by dementia – not just by raising essential funds but also by spreading the word on how it affects people, talking to, and helping, people living with dementia and recognising that dementia can adversely affect families and carers of those who have a diagnosis.

Care UK team members know all too well what dementia means to people. In every single one of its homes, there are people living with dementia. Some are in the early stages and might just be a little forgetful, others have the most advanced stage which can rob people of their ability to communicate or move around.

To help spread the word during this year’s 2018 Dementia Action Week, dozens of Care UK home teams have arranged events. These range from holding a cake sale to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society to the installation of a high tech Tovertafel in one of Care UK’s homes in Gloucestershire.

One team that has really taken Dementia Action Week to its heart is the one in Cavell Court near Norwich. They have six events planned – including hosting a free ‘understanding dementia’ session for local people with national expert Dr Nori Graham and setting up stands in venues ranging from a theatre to Waitrose.

Brook Court care home in Kidderminster is setting up a stand in Kidderminster town square alongside their Dementia Action Alliance partners offering  cakes and the special free guides for families of people living with dementia.

At Appleby House in Epsom, the home is inviting the local community to the special launch of its ‘Purple Angel’ initiative, which supports people with dementia and the launch will include a personal message from the founder of the campaign, Norman McNamara.

Cumberland care home in Mitcham will be hosting a public event with a representative from Dementia UK to explain what it might be like to live with dementia and offer some practical advice.

Lead nurse Darren Pitcher  who is one of Care UK’s top experts on dementia said: “Thankfully, dementia is now a subject that people are far more familiar with – thanks in part to the fact that some high profile people like author Terry Pratchett, musician Glenn Campbell and, more recently, Barbara Windsor have talked openly about their diagnosis.  But as a society, we still have far more to do to understand how we can help people with dementia to live their life well.”

For the past five years, as well as running talks and encouraging communities into its homes, Care UK has also done its bit to help build awareness of how we can all support people with dementia by publishing free advice guides.

These cover topics like food and nutrition, days out and communicating with someone living with dementia. Copies can be downloaded simply and free of charge from the Care UK website or picked up from the reception desk of most Care UK homes.

To find out if your local Care UK home is holding an event for Dementia Action Week, just search in the location box here and look for information on the web pages linked to that home. More general information about Dementia Action Awareness is available on the Alzheimer’s Society website.