Dementia Action Week in Knutsford

Knutsford did its part to mark Dementia Action Week 2018 with a series of events designed to make Knutsfordians more aware about the issue which affects over 850,000 people in the UK.

Dementia describes different brain disorders that trigger a loss of brain function. These conditions are all usually progressive and eventually severe. Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, confusion and problems with speech and understanding. A group of local people, led by PCSO Courtney Nancollas of Knutsford Police, and including representatives from Age UK Cheshire East, have been working hard to raise awareness of this issue, with a view to making Knutsford a ‘dementia friendly’ town.

To mark Dementia Action week, a series of events were held across the town, including Dementia Friends sessions at The Courthouse, Library, Sharston House and Tatton Park. The sessions are an Alzheimers Society initiative designed to give people an awareness of the condition and how it impacts on those living with it.  The week also included a complimentary rail confidence journey provided by Northern Rail, a talk encouraging others to join the group working towards a dementia friendly town, and the regular Friendship Café for those living with dementia and their carers at the Methodist Church.  The week concluded with a cake sale at Knutsford Police station on Saturday morning, raising money for the Alzheimers Society.

As well as the week’s events, the Group has been working hard to engage with local businesses to undertake dementia friendly training sessions.  Already, seventeen businesses have come on board, in a bid to make sure their businesses are able to provide a more enjoyable and safe experience for people living with dementia.

Mike Askew, Veterans Wellbeing Co-ordinator from Age UK Cheshire East, who undertook dementia friends sessions during the week at the library commented “I am really pleased to be involved in this great initiative.  Dementia is such a growing issue amongst our communities and it is important that we all work towards making our environment more dementia friendly.  These awareness sessions mean that there are now more people across Knutsford who understand how dementia impacts on people’s lives and can think about changes that can be made to make life easier for them.”

The Group overseeing the work meets regularly at Knutsford Library, with the next meeting being held on 21 June at 11.30am.  If you are interested in helping to make Knutsford a dementia friendly town, please do come along!