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Care Home Staff Become Dementia Friends

IMAG5048[1]Staff at a Middlesbrough care home are becoming Dementia Friends after launching a social action group to tackle the negative assumptions surrounding the degenerative disease.

The Gables Care Home, last week, held its first session for Dementia Friends with the aim of giving more people an understanding of dementia and the small things that could make a difference to people living with the condition.

Dementia Friends was launched as part of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia initiative, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society who have set an ambitious target of making 1 million ‘Dementia Friends’ by 2015.

The national charity has recently renewed its appeal calling for more people to train as Dementia Friends Champions and, as a result, staff, residents and their families at The Gables decided to get involved.

After a one-day training session participants become official Dementia Champions and can pass on their understanding of the disease to others.

Jacqueline Pallister, Care Home Manager at The Gables, said: “We hear a lot of questions from the friends and family of our residents about dementia, with people wanting to understand things like the signs and symptoms, the causes and, ultimately, how best to support a loved one if they are diagnosed.

“It’s those little things that can make such a big difference to how those living with dementia feel. This training puts our residents living with dementia at the front of our thinking and most importantly makes them feel better. It also offers relatives and friends the chance to help improve understanding and clear up any misconceptions.”

Join Dementia Friends today and help create more communities that are dementia friendly. Go to dementiafriends.org.uk to find out more about Dementia Friends or to volunteer as a Dementia Friends Champion.

 

Nestle