- Council to put frontline workers on specialist dementia training course
- 1 in 14 people in the UK are living with Dementia
Sutton Council today announced plans to ensure its frontline employees are able to better support residents living with dementia.
Councillors from across Sutton are leading the way having become the first UK council to host a Dementia Friends awareness workshop – a training course that helps demolish the myths, develops empathy and teaches people how to respond to those who have dementia.
Over twenty councillors have already taken the training (taking place on Monday 20 October) and pledged to sign up to the Dementia Friends initiative.
Sutton Councillors were so impressed with the training that a decision has been made to roll out the course for all frontline staff – many of whom work with people living with dementia or with their families and carers.
Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society enterprise designed to change the way people think about the condition. It has the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron and aims to have one million people signed up by March 2015.
Some 850,000 people in the UK will have a form of dementia by 2015. In less than ten years a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to two million people by 2051.
Council Leader Ruth Dombey said:
“Dementia is such a terrible disease that unfortunately affects many people, either personally or through a family member or friend.
“We felt we could make a difference in Sutton by learning more about the condition and how someone with Dementia may perceive different situations.
“The Dementia Friends training was a real eye-opener, so much so that have decided to make sure all our frontline officers have the chance to get involved and increase their knowledge about dementia and their ability to deal with those with the disease.
“A good number of councillors are already Dementia Friends, the feedback I have received is that it has made a difference to them personally and is helping them really understand the issue”
“Council employees interact with our residents in a number of different ways. Understanding the condition better will mean greater support for people with dementia can be offered”
Councillor Jean Crosby was amongst those who attended the councillor workshop and has her own reasons for wanting to know more about the condition, she explains:
“My husband is living with Dementia brought on by a stroke; it completely changed his personality.
“I was given no support or advice on how to care for him when he was diagnosed and had little insight into the condition and its effects; I just tried to keep him busy and physically active.
“It is vital that we do what we can to educate people about dementia, how you spot the early signs and how you can care for someone with dementia and ensure they continue to live a full life, in spite of its onset.”
Courses and workshops for council employees have now been scheduled – the first session taking place on December 3rd.
Reena Barai, Dementia Champion at Dementia Friends said:
“It’s really superb that Sutton Council is taking practical steps to learn more about dementia. The Dementia Friends workshop is a great opportunity to improve your knowledge on the subject. By learning that little bit more about what it might be like to live with dementia Sutton Council will be better placed to help and support people with the condition. It demonstrates their ongoing commitment to making their business more dementia-friendly.”
Sutton Council has also agreed a priority with the Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group to diagnose people with dementia at an earlier stage of their illness so that timely support can be offered to people and their families to help manage the difficulties dementia causes.