July/August 2026

Comment: ‘It’s hot – and we’ve been cooking up new features’

Summer greetings to you all from everyone here at Dementia Community. I hope you have found ways of staying cool in the hot weather, or enjoying it if you are sun lovers. People living with dementia are considered a high-risk group in hot weather so ensure that attention is paid to keeping people cool and well hydrated. This issue has a new feature, ‘Dementia…...

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News Round-Up July 2026

This is a brief selection of the news and resources regularly posted and updated on our website, as featured in the Journal. Reports by Beth Britton News of General Interest...

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Dementia initiatives with minority communities – who can comment?

David Truswell urges people who have been actively involved in supporting dementia initiatives with minority ethnic communities to write and publish about them to show what works, even if they are not part of that community. David Truswell is an Independent Advisor on dementia support and services for Black and Minority Ethnic communities and is…...

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Dementia Care and Support – Your Questions Answered

Rachel Thompson kicks off our new, regular feature with practical advice and help in answering the following question: How can I best support a person with dementia who is starting to neglect their personal care but refuses to accept help or support? Rachel Thompson is a Consultant Admiral Nurse for Lewy Body dementia; funded by…...

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Meet the new Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society – Michelle Dyson CB

Michelle Dyson took up the post of Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society in November 2025. Michelle is the former Director General for Adult Social Care at the Department of Health and Social Care. Michelle worked in the civil service for 27 years and was awarded a CB (Companion of the Order of the Bath)…...

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A Familiar Voice: implementing Simulated Presence Therapy (SPT) into care home settings across County Durham and Darlington.

Megan Holden explains how a systematic approach using recorded messages from families can help address behavioural expressions of need for people with dementia living in care homes. Author Details Megan Holden was a Clinical Associate Psychologist working for Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust in a Care Home Liaison service, supporting people living with dementia who…

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Shattering the silence: singing in the library!

Heather Edwards tells the history of library-based singing sessions in Norwich and how they continue to thrive today. Heather Edwards is a musician, the Come Singing lead, and originator of Music Mirrors, a simple digital audio-biographic resource to support people living with dementia and their carers. Summary In 2015 the small voluntary organisation Come Singing…...

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Supporting care homes to understand “behaviours that challenge us” in dementia: A whole-home training approach and evaluation

Jodie Snook and psychologist colleagues from an Older Adult Community Mental Health team describe how they designed and evaluated a short, whole-home training programme to encourage care home staff to use behavioural approaches when working with “Behaviour that Challenges us” (BtCu) in line with best practice guidelines.* *Note on terminology Since this intervention took place,…...

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The use of Namaste Care to reduce distress in a person living with dementia

Julie Young and colleagues describe a pilot project that used Namaste Care in a structured way to support the provision of personal care to people with dementia living in care homes. Julie Young is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner working for Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear (CNTW) Mental Health Trust. She works in the Older…...

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Dementia and sleep. Understanding and managing insomnia

In the fifth and final article of the series, Stuart Kennedy considers the use of non-pharmacological interventions and medications to treat insomnia and other sleep problems experienced by people living with dementia. Author Details Stuart Kennedy is an Admiral Nurse and works on Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline. He has held a non-medical prescribing qualification for 22 years…....

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