INDIVIDUALS, charity workers, volunteers, businesses and public sector organisations across Worcestershire are working together in the coming week to raise awareness about dementia.

It is estimated that around 225,000 people in the UK each year are diagnosed with dementia and there are more than 850,000 living with dementia. According to data from the National Office of Statistics, the condition is currently the leading cause of death in England and Wales.

The latest figures show that in Worcestershire there are 8,636 people who are diagnosed with dementia and this is projected to rise by 67 per cent to 14,475 by 2030.

Staff and volunteers of the Worcestershire branch of the Alzheimer’s Association are involved in a number of activities across the county as they take part in Dementia Awareness Week, which runs until Saturday May 20.

Information stands will be popping up across the county during the week, where people can put their questions to the experts. Trained staff will be on hand to provide information and advice to anyone worried about or affected by dementia.

There will also be an opportunity at some of the events for the public to take part in Dementia Friends Information Sessions where they can learn more about what it is like to live with dementia.

The awareness week is also a chance for people to unite in calling for improved care for people living with dementia.

Gill Read, services manager for Alzheimer’s Society in Worcestershire, said: “We’re calling on people across Worcestershire to show their support at any of our events this Dementia Awareness Week.

“We hope these events will help give people a better understanding of the support available to them.

“People with dementia often feel – and are – misunderstood, marginalised and isolated but with the right support and understanding they can continue to live fulfilling lives and make a contribution to their communities.”

The events are as follows:

• All week the Malvern Dementia Action Alliance will be distributing knitted forget-me-not flowers and offering dementia Friends sessions. Those who take part in the free sessions will gain a better understanding of the condition, know how to act appropriately towards those with dementia and contribute to Malvern becoming a more dementia-friendly community.

• Tuesday May 16 from 10.30am to 12noon at Tesco in Kidderminster, which opened the first ‘Relaxed Shopping Lane’ in the West Midlands, there will be a performance by the Kidderminster Singing for the Brain group.

• Tuesday May 16 from 10am to 2pm there will be a muffins and memories meeting outside Lorita’s Bakehouse. There will be two stalls in the market with information, muffins and music (playing old records) reminiscence and raising awareness about dementia and dementia friendly communities.

• Wednesday May 17 from 11am to 3pm there will be coffee and cakes at the Guildhall with free Dementia Friends sessions, information and an invitation to local businesses about the local dementia action alliance.

• Saturday May 20 from 12 noon to 4pm there will be a Family Fun Day in Ombersley at the memorial hall. It will involve stalls, a school choir, Worcester Ukulele Band, ceramics expert Henry Sandon, pop-up dementia café, reminiscence activities and much more.

The Alzheimer’s Society and Worcester Dementia Action Alliance will also be visiting a number of Worcester city centre shops on Wednesday May 17 to discuss the positive action they can take to prepare to meet the needs of an increased number of customers living with dementia.

Gill Read said: ““People with dementia repeatedly say that the attitude of the people they encounter while they’re out and about can have a huge impact on their confidence to continue doing the things they’ve always done.

“Therefore if you want them to continue to be your customers or you’d like to be recognised as a place of choice for family and friends who are out with a person with dementia, becoming dementia friendly and advertising this fact makes great business sense.”

Other steps businesses can take range from reviewing HR policies to see if they support staff who are caring for someone with dementia or supporting employees who have been diagnosed in the early stages of dementia, to making sure shop layouts and services are easy for people who have dementia and their carers to navigate.

Frances Howie, director of Public Health Worcestershire, said: “It is hugely important to shape our cities, towns and villages to meet the changing needs of our communities. I welcome this great work in Worcester city and know it will result in making it easier to live well with dementia.”

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service is also supporting Dementia Awareness Week by working alongside other agencies like the Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK and other voluntary organisations as well as attending events during the week.

Station commander Stuart Crebbin said: “Many of the people we see have dementia and can be extremely vulnerable. With the growing ageing population, we felt it was important for members of staff to have a greater understanding of dementia. To assist with this, several members of staff are Dementia Friends champions and Dementia Friends Awareness sessions are taking place across the service”.

He added: “The service identifies those who are most at risk in their community and fire crews and members of the Community Risk department carry out Home Fire Safety Checks in the homes of vulnerable people. This gives an opportunity to offer vital safety advice on subjects such as escape routes, electrical safety and smoke alarms."

DEMENTIA is not a disease in its own right and it is not a natural part of ageing. It is a collection of symptoms caused by different diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that affect the brain.

Dementia affects memory, thinking, problem solving, concentration, language and perception which in turn makes a difference to a person’s daily life. It can also have an impact on a their vision and mood.

The condition is caused by damage to the brain due to a loss of nerve cells and the symptoms gradually get worse. Once a nerve cell dies it cannot usually be replaced so, as more and more cells die, the brain starts to shrink or waste away.

Each person experiences dementia differently because the symptoms depend on the areas of the brain affected. If the cells in the temporal lobes are affected a person may have problems with language while if the occipital lobe cells are damaged the person may experience problems with vision.

There is currently no cure for dementia and many of the diseases that cause it are terminal. Some of the diseases that are associated with dementia include Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, brain tumours, strokes and Huntington’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is thought to be due to abnormal deposits of protein in the brain resulting in brain cells dying. The hippocampus part of the brain is usually the first to be affected and this area of the brain is responsible for forming memories. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s a person may have difficulty in forming new memories and have a tendency to repeat themselves in conversation.

For more information about the brain and dementia visit https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20000/about_dementia