Dementia is becoming an increasingly common condition in our community.
Over 800,000 people in the UK currently suffer from dementia, with this number expected to rise to over 1,000,000 by 2021.
Dementia can strike at any age, but tends to afflict older people.
Here in Waverley, around 25,000 residents are over age 65 and 1,900 of these individuals are known to have been diagnosed with dementia, nearly 8% of the older population.
Last night I attended the Cranleigh Community Meeting of Dementia Friendly Surrey.
This was established as a result of the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge, launched in March 2012 by David Cameron.
Part of this challenge is creating dementia friendly communities, so Dementia Friendly Surrey was created in March 2013 by Surrey County Council and the NHS.
At the meeting last night, we heard from a number of interesting speakers about how the local community might better support those with dementia and their carers.
We heard about examples of from elsewhere, such as in Bruges where shops display dementia friendly symbols.
Locally in Waverley, there are currently 30 individuals and 70 businesses, organisations and providers who are Dementia Friendly Surrey Champions.
Here at Informed Choice, we look forward to becoming a Champion in the New Year and participating in training designed to help us support people with dementia and their carers more effectively.
One of the most valuable parts of the meeting for me personally last night was hearing from Wendy, the carer of someone with dementia, about her experiences.
Wendy delivered a talk which was hard-hitting and at times peppered with a little dark humour, about her experiences of caring for her husband who suffered from dementia.
She shared useful tips for helping those with dementia and outlined some of the support available from different sources, some harder to access than others.
Dementia is already a very real challenge in our local communities and its prevalence is only set to grow.
Organisations such as Dementia Friendly Surrey are an important part of the solution when it comes to raising awareness and helping the community better support those suffering from dementia.
