Exeter Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) has celebrated their 10-year anniversary with an event to mark this milestone and pay tribute to Alliance supporter and artist, Tony Husband. The Alliance, which is a small foundation governed by GivingWorks, was founded by Gina Awad and has been led by her and her small team since 2014. The…
Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) has published their #WhatsYourPlan progress report. ADI launched their #WhatsYourPlan campaign in 2021, with an aim to increase the number of National Dementia Plans. This was inspired by WHO Member States unanimously adopting the Global Action Plan on the public health response to dementia in 2017 but most Member States then…
Social Care Future has launched ‘When I get old’, a movement for a different care and support future. Led by Angela Catley and Sian Lockwood, ‘When I get old’ is a space for conversations and positive disruption. Angela and Sian are looking for allies – organisations and people thinking about the kind of care they…
NHS England has announced Dr Jeremy Isaacs is the new National Clinical Director for Dementia, succeeding Professor Alistair Burns CBE who took up the role in 2010. You can read more here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/04/nhs-announces-first-ever-national-clinical-director-for-womens-health/ At Dementia Community we send our congratulations to Dr Isaacs and look forward to working together to further our mission to support…
Findings published in Jama Network Open have shown that cognitive tests done via a smartphone app are reliable at detecting early signs of frontotemporal dementia in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition. The app tested walking, balance and movements, as well as different aspects of language, and was used by 360 participants. The…
Dementia UK has published a new leaflet entitled ‘Living alone with dementia’. It includes information about using technology, maintaining routines, keeping socially active, driving, safety, finances and much more, with a dedicated section on young onset dementia. You can read more and download the leaflet here: https://www.dementiauk.org/information-and-support/living-with-dementia/living-alone-with-dementia/
New legislation – The Carer’s Leave Act – has come into effect that enables unpaid carers to ask for up to five days leave from their employer every year without risking dismissal. Employees can take time off in full or half days, or in a whole block of five days. Emily Holzhausen OBE, Director of…
The Foundation for Nursing Studies (FoNS) has announced new cohorts from June 2024 for their fully-funded training programme: ‘Resilience Based Clinical Supervision for Social Care’. The course is open to nurses and nurse associates in social care in any settings across England. The training has received excellent feedback so far. Find out more here: https://www.fons.org/learning-zone/clinical-supervision-resources/rbcs-social-care
NHS England has included dementia in their 2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance. Specifically, National NHS Objectives for 2024/25 say: “Improve quality of life, effectiveness of treatment, and care for people with dementia by increasing the dementia diagnosis rate to 66.7% by March 2025.” You can read the guidance here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRN00715-2024-to-2025-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance-27.03.2024.pdf
Ex-rugby player Steve Thompson, who was diagnosed with young onset dementia in 2020, has announced that the documentary he made for the BBC entitled ‘Head On: Rugby, Dementia and Me’ that was first aired in October 2022 has had its availability continued on the BBC iPlayer platform. You can view the documentary here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001ctkw/head-on-rugby-dementia-and-me