I and A Mag Oct19

Here’s to Dementia
A FREINDLY FUTURE
might become difficult, keeping in touch can bring feelings of
happiness and comfort, especially as the ‘emotional memory’
remains with them long after the memory of the visit may have
gone.”
While getting support from health and care services is vitally
important to a person with dementia, it’s not the whole picture.
Those affected by this challenging condition will only be able
to live well if people and organisations from right across
society come together to help.
What is a ‘dementia-friendly community’?
“We want to make Knaresborough a town where
people living with dementia feel understood,
respected, supported and confident, so that they
can contribute to life in the community.” So
says Alison Wrigglesworth, Services Manager
for Harrogate and Knaresborough Alzheimer’s
Society.
The Yorkshire town of Knaresborough is one of the latest in
a long line of UK towns to declare themselves a ‘dementiafriendly
Community’ (DFC). Dementia is not, as many people
believe, a natural consequence of old age (although the
older you are, the more likely you are to be affected) and it
is predicted that the number of UK residents with dementia
will increase to over one million by 2025. That figure is set to
double by 2051.
Given these statistics, it’s seems likely that in future our public
health and social care services could struggle to care for people
who develop the condition. Dementia-friendly initiatives
therefore serve a dual purpose: helping people stay at home
for as long as possible and relieving some of the burden that
would otherwise be placed on our public care providers.
What are the issues?
Things we all take for granted, such as using technology,
getting served in shops and banks, going on holiday, spending
time with friends and family or enjoying hobbies, are difficult
when you have dementia, but they can become even harder
when the individuals around you don’t know how to respond
appropriately.
For this reason it’s not uncommon for people to shut
themselves away as their condition progresses, even though
this can make them feel isolated and depressed. According to
the Alzheimer’s Society, over two-thirds of those polled have
reported feeling lonely.
Alison Wrigglesworth admits that public anxieties about
dementia can often make the situation worse. “Many people
are worried about ‘saying the wrong thing’ to someone with
dementia, yet a friendly face or listening ear can make the
world of difference,” she told radio station Stray FM at the
launch of the Knaresborough initiative earlier this year. “Even
in the later stages of dementia when having a conversation
A dementia-friendly community is a place where people with
dementia are understood, respected and supported. It can be
a street, village, town, city or region, an organisation, a group
or even a virtual community. A DFC can be as small or as large
as the group of people it serves, but its impact is obviously
much greater when a town or city becomes involved.
The concept was first was developed during the 1990s in
Japan, a country where the proportion of citizens aged 65 or
older has quadrupled over four decades. Rather than exclude
a significant proportion of its population from society, the
Japanese began to develop programmes designed to make it
easier for those living with dementia to continue to enjoy some
independence.
What does ‘dementia-friendly’ look like?
There are no hard and fast rules to follow when setting up a
DFC of your own. Instead, local communities are encouraged
to decide what works best for them, turning to grassroots
organisations with relevant experience to show the way.
While flexibility is encouraged, there are certain measures that
are regularly adopted by towns and cities who want to become
DFCs. Businesses that regularly come into contact with older
people, such as banks and taxi firms, are asked to provide extra
support for customers with dementia, while museums and art
galleries are encouraged to offer dementia-friendly activities.
Other initiatives include ‘dementia cafes’ and drop-in centres.
Doctors’ surgeries, shops and offices use special signs,
combining easy-to-read text with an image, to help people
with dementia navigate their way around a building. Many
dementia-friendly towns have extended this idea to their
public realm planning, using clear signage and creating welldefined
open spaces with public toilets, seats, shelters and
good lighting.
Most DFCs are keen to engage local people as ‘Dementia
Friends’. These are individuals willing to promote the aims of
the DFC, from spreading awareness about the condition to
volunteering to spend time with a person who has dementia.
Currently almost three million have signed up to this initiative
on the Dementia Friends website (dementiafriends.org.uk).
The Alzheimer’s Society has estimated that one in six people
aged over 80 in the United Kingdom currently has dementia,
and a further 225,000 people will be diagnosed this year.
There’s clearly no time to lose, so it’s reassuring to see that
new dementia-friendly communities, just like the one in
Knaresborough, are appearing every day.
by Kate McLelland
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