Future Events  .

Our planned Glastonbury Festival was a no go, but we didn’t give up trying, we approached other big music festivals and we have got a positive yes for the V Festival, hope we see you there

Confirmed dates this year are:

18th&19th March- Street Info & Leaflets  Nelson Town Centre  10.30am-3pm

2nd April – Street Info and Leaflets Accrington Town Centre  10.30-3pm

29th -30th April- Street Info and Leaflets Nelson Town Centre 10.30-3pm

8th June -Dementia 20/20 Conference Bridgewater Hall Manchester

11th June – Walk a mile in carers shoes Townley Park Burnley

13th June Charity Fair  Accrington Market

July 13th – Carnforth Dementia Awareness Street Info

18th June – Whalley Oak Hill School Fair

19th June – Oswaldtwistle Carnival

22nd June – Disability Awareness Day Stall Accrington Town Hall

25th June -Pals Proms In The Park Accrington

26th June- Classic Car Show  Townley Park Burnley

2nd July – Morecambe Street Info and Leaflets   10.30am-3pm

11th July- Rotary Club Talk on Dementia Burnley

13th July- Carnforth Street Info and Leaflets  10.30am -3pm

30th-31st July -Skipton Food & Drink Festival Skipton

17th-21st August – V Festival Staffordshire

25th August- Street Info Accrington           11am-3pm

31st August -Info Hub 1st Call Hyndburn Accrington

4th September -Craft & Dabble Fair Arthur Wilson Centre, Clayton-Le-Moors

17th September -Community Solutions Fun Day Elmfield Hall Accrington

21stSeptember – Freshers Fair Burnley College

21st September- Accrington Disability Awareness Day Charity Fair

28th September  – Lady Fayre Howarth Golf Club

15th October -Accrington Market Stall Accrington Town Centre

3rd December – East Lancashire Hospice Christmas Market

18th March -WRAD 2017

More will be added for over the Christmas period, so come and see us and have a chat

Retail Shops

To be opened in the very, very near future.  We have been searching for premises in Accrington town centre and Burnley town centre for some time now to no avail, but we never give up trying and will keep you posted on this.

Imagine that you have been diagnosed with dementia. You’re in the early stages and have the opportunity to choose how you will be cared for in the future.

Here is a very innovative project called Hogewey, a village that has been highly successful in Holland, similar projects are now being built in America, Germany and Switzerland.

What if your choices were an institutional nursing home setting or a gated community where you can share an apartment with friends and have the freedom to go shopping whenever you please? Which would you pick? Learn more about an international senior care community revolutionizing dementia care through dementia villages.

An Unconventional Village

In the municipality of Weesp, not far from Amsterdam, sits the village of Hogewey. At first glance, it looks like any other village complete with shops, restaurants and even a movie theatre. There are apartments surrounding a lovely courtyard complete with rippling ponds, trickling fountains, vibrant seasonal flowers and benches perfect for enjoying a sunny afternoon.

This village, however, is quite unique.

Hogewey is home to 152 men and women living with severe dementia. The community has 23 residential units, each shared by 6-8 residents. Around-the-clock care is provided by 240 “villagers” who are actually trained geriatric nurses and caregivers dressed in street clothes. The staff takes care of everything from cooking meals and planning activities to assisting with bathing, personal care and administering medications. Even the individuals staffing the various village “businesses” are trained in dementia care, to help those with the dementia go about their day.

The Coexistence of Freedom and Security

To ensure resident’s safety, Hogewey is a secure place, but it also allows residents to roam around and explore as much as they wish within its confines. Residents are even encouraged to help with cooking and other household tasks including shopping in the village grocery store. If they get lost or confused, there is always a “villager” nearby to provide assistance.

Reminiscence therapy paired with the freedom allows residents to reduce or completely quell frustration agitation/many behavioural issues. Still not a believer? Well, consider this, the natural decrease in frustration/agitation/behavioural issues results in a reduced need for high-powered drugs(the soft kosh) and other medicines.

This model also helps residents remain active and gives them a sense of purpose – something that has been absent in a traditional nursing home environment.

Living a “Normal” Life Dementia Care: What in the World is a Dementia Village?

Some critics disagree with the idea of creating this environment, arguing that residents are being misled. However, proponents of the dementia village see it as being the most compassionate type of dementia care offered anywhere.

Many experts agree the homelike setting at Hogewey allows residents to live as normal a life as possible, eating dinner family style, visiting with friends, stopping by the barbershop, or going for a walk whenever they wish.

The Future of Dementia Care?

Germany and Switzerland and the US have studied Hogewey and will probably be the next countries to follow suit, creating their own dementia care villages. In the United States, it is estimated (a low estimation) that unless there is a major medical breakthrough, there could be as many as 16 million cases of some form of dementia there by the year 2050, the actual numbers could be an awful lot higher than this.

As you can imagine, cost is one of the greatest barriers to making self-contained villages like Hogewey the standard in dementia care. The cost to build the community was slightly over approx £18 million, approx £15 million of which was funded by the Dutch government. Residents pay approximately £2,250 monthly, and there is a perpetual waiting list, so many more are needed for an ever growing population, in Holland, America, Switzerland, the UK and throughout the world.

As the need for dementia care grows the UK should be investing in this kind of care for people living with dementia, their families friends and carers. As a dementia charity we Action For Dementia want to raise money and support for such forward thinking, caring, compassionate and intelligently thoughtout projects such as this. Creating safe communities/villages like this will save money and create jobs in the future.

First emergency admissions department joins campaign

Tracy Dodd and Jaqueline Young

Saturday 9 January 2016

Tracy Dodd The importance of the support of relatives and carers for people with dementia was vividly brought home to us recently. We were helping a patient with dementia, whose daughter was his main carer. She was distressed that she had been separated from her father for the 45 minutes needed for vital treatment, including an electrocardiogram, blood tests and intravenous fluids.

We had felt satisfied with how we had done our job, but her worries suddenly made us see it from a different point of view, that of the anxious carer and of the vulnerable and frightened patient. We would never separate a child from their parent for that period of time, so why should it be any different for a person with dementia, who takes comfort from seeing the familiar faces of relatives and carers? Forty-five minutes is a short time – but it can feel painfully long for those who are confused and vulnerable. We need to be empathetic in the way we treat our patients and their families.

That’s why we’re so pleased to join John’s Campaign. We have already had positive feedback from carers. The daughter of one patient wrote a letter to praise the calm, respectful and reassuring assessment and treatment her elderly mother was given. Later, they were allowed to stay together in a quiet side room while they waited for an ambulance to take them home, and she believes that the efforts to reduce the stress of the visit helped her mother resettle at home with no deterioration in her condition.

Jacqueline Young Very many frail older people are admitted to the unit and my role involves identifying and assessing those patients. A crucial part of this process involves contacting families or care homes. Sometimes, carers are not used to this level of communication and may be unsure why they are being involved. But if we communicate clearly and with compassion, they are grateful for the opportunity to share relevant information about their loved-ones and to be recognised as a valuable part of the team of support.