Halstead Dementia-Inclusive Database

The Rotary Club of Halstead began a journey which has unlimited potential for all Rotarians across Clubs and Districts in Rotary GB&I. At a recent Club meeting we were made aware of just how many People were Living with Dementia. In the UK over a million are living with the illness and this figure is set to rise steadily over the next 10 years.The Alzheimers Society are keen to increase awareness of the illness but we were asked to ensure we did not identify those living with the illness as sufferers. The presentation was a very positive focus on how living with Dementia affected the local community. In a video we were introduced to Dave Daniel a 53 year old man who was diagnosed with Dementia 4 years ago. In the video he talked about the most difficult parts of Living with Dementia and how his carer was so important in helping him improve mobility and social contact. The talk stimulated a lot of interest and as a club we wanted to help.

In the first instance I contacted Kim Richardson Customer Services Manager at a local care home. She specialises in those Living with Dementia. She had started a local Dementia Choir, as singing is great therapy. She was enthused by the actress Vicky McClure (Line of Duty) and had built up the Choir from scratch using a local Cinema. She was struggling to fund the Choir so together with Andy Munday Mayor of Halstead we began raising funds.This has been very successful and we have been delighted to see increased local awareness. We made plans to have a concert sponsored by the Club and we involved one of the local schools as Kim was keen to ensure young people were made aware of the illness.

I wanted to better understand what services were available to those living locally with Dementia and talked to a number of agencies. What was clear was there was no one point of focus. Signposting for those living with Dementia was frankly inadequate if not there at all.

We held a meeting with the mayor to decide what we could do to improve the situation and came up with a need to identify and co-ordinate services within the Halstead community to improve the lives of people living with Dementia. We are now in the process of getting the project supported by both District 1240 and Essex County Council.

We have presented the project to our local MP Sir James Cleverly and he was very enthusiastic. We have a planned meeting with the Cllr John Spence CBE of Essex County Council. We have applied for a District Grant and have a number of fund raising activities in plan. One of these we hope will be a walk for those living with Dementia to raise funds.

To be clear the project we have in mind is a Dementia - Inclusive on-line data base - building a dementia friendly community. The project is to support the building of a data base that will be a one stop community resource to ensure that people living with dementia, their families and care givers have access to the right support.

We are working with a number of agencies in Halstead to create the criteria necessary for the establishment of a Dementia friendly community. These are The Mayor of Halstead and the town council, Essex County Council, Halstead Rotary Club, Halstead Dementia Choir, Dementia Adventure, Halstead library, Halstead Masons, Halstead Probus and Care UK.

There are no hard and fast rules which constitute a Dementia friendly community but here are the criteria we are working on for a geographic community :

1. Involvement of people with Dementia we need to shape communities around the needs and aspirations of people living with Dementia alongside the views of their carers.
2. We need to challenge stigma and build understanding.
3. We need to provide accessible, organised community activities, specific and appropriate to the needs of people living with Dementia.
4. We need to acknowledge potential, to ensure that people living with Dementia themselves realise the positive contribution they can make to their communities.
5. We need to ensure an early diagnosis.
6. We need to have practical support to enable engagement in community life, providing be-friending, practical and emotional support.
7. We need to provide community base solutions ie. support people with Dementia in whatever care setting they live, to maintain independence.
8. To provide consistent and reliable travel options.
9. To promote awareness of Dementia in all shops, businesses and services, ensuring all staff demonstrate understanding and know how to recognise symptoms of Dementia.

We are working with the Medical school of Anglia Ruskin University to develop an awareness programme for the general public.

In conclusion I hope this article encourages all Rotarians to see how they can embrace the challenges of living with Dementia.

I am delighted to report that courtesy of the Mayor of Halstead we now have use of the Queens Hall to hold a drop in centre once a month supported by Halstead Rotary Club.

Challenge : Can your club/district open a drop in centre, support a choir or provide transport, or other community support for those living with Dementia.