A new national campaign addressing to raise awareness of living with dementia has just been launched.
The campaign which will run across several types of media, print, online, radio etc will be inviting people to take time out to find out more about dementia and how people living with the condition can be helped.
As part of the campaign, Islanders are being asked to share their views on how they would like Dementia Services to be developed on the Island.
An informal drop-in session for service users, carers and their families has been arranged for next week, to find out more about services for people with dementia, as well as feeding back on how they feel current Island services can be improved.
Dementia is a growing problem in the South East affecting over 99,000 people and the Island’s NHS now has a service specifically dedicated to people with dementia. As well as providing the more intensive treatment for those with complex needs, the service also offers diagnosis, support for carers and advice to residential homes.
Martin Robinson, Associate Director for Mental Health & Learning Disabilities at NHS Isle of Wight said: “We have been working with local service users and carers to make sure Dementia Services on the Island meet the needs of people with dementia, both now and in the future. Currently when a person with dementia becomes acutely ill, or presents with challenging behaviour, the outcome is often admission to hospital i.e. Shackleton House. The person with dementia is moved to an unfamiliar and often noisy and busy environment with people they don’t know which can be distressing to them and to their family.
Martin continued: “The National Dementia Strategy has given us direction in developing community-based services; either in the person’s own home or in a residential home. We want to provide highly skilled long-term care for people with dementia and ensure everyone has access to the highest quality care wherever they may be. The national awareness campaign is well timed and supports our objective of helping people with dementia to live well and helping Islanders to understand more about this condition.”
This video below is one of the shortlisted entries for the 2009 NHS Isle of Wight Awards. It highlights a project developed to improve services for patients with Downs Syndrome and Dementia.
Image: Alzheimer’s Society
