Make Devon & Cornwall more dementia friendly

Alzheimer’s Society is this week launching brand new resources aimed at helping even more businesses and organisations to become dementia friendly.

A video which charts a day in the life of someone living with dementia and the challenges they face doing everyday tasks, such as going to the bank or shops, and aims to help people in customer facing roles understand how they can best support someone with dementia when they meet them.

This new tool is launched in the same month that Alzheimer’s Society launches the first Dementia Friendly Awards, sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group and supported by The Telegraph, and established to recognise and celebrate communities, organisations and individuals across England who have helped to make their area more dementia-friendly.

The video has been designed alongside a handy guide that will be distributed to businesses by Alzheimer’s Society campaign volunteers and a new booklet for businesses How to help people with dementia - a guide for customer-facing staff.

Alzheimer’s Society research shows that 69 per cent of people with dementia say that lack of confidence is the main reason that they stop going out in their local community. Other barriers people with dementia face include worrying about becoming confused and not wanting to be a burden to other people. Continuing to do the things that matter to them can make their day-to-day lives much better.

Debbie Donnison, Regional Operations Manager for Alzheimer’s Society in the South West said: "These new resources including a helpful video provide information on common symptoms of dementia as well as how it can affect people. They give clear, straightforward guidance on how employers can promote dementia awareness amongst their staff so that they can learn how small changes make a big difference.

"The resources support Alzheimer’s Society’s drive to encourage communities, businesses and other organisations to work towards becoming more dementia friendly and to help create better environments for people to live well with dementia for as long as possible.

"We would encourage everyone to have a look at the video on YouTube and share it with their friends and family. It gives a real insight into what it is like to live with dementia day to day and the challenge of tackling everyday tasks that we all take for granted."