THE Alzheimer's Society is calling for people in Lancashire and Cumbria to defeat dementia stigma by becoming Dementia Friends. KATIE DICKINSON looks at the scheme and meets some of the people who have taken part so far.

EARLIER this month the Alzheimer’s Society announced that 24,848 people in Cumbria and Lancashire had signed up to become dementia friends – one of the highest numbers in the country.

The scheme launched in 2013 and aims to tackle the stigma and lack of understanding around dementia, which has resulted in many people with the condition facing social exclusion.

It combines face-to-face information sessions and online videos to help people learn more about dementia and the small actions they can take to make a difference.

There are also currently more than 379 dementia friend champions in Lancashire and Cumbria - volunteers who help create grass roots change by running dementia friends information sessions.

Kendal has been particularly involved in the scheme, as one of 115 towns across the UK that is working towards becoming a dementia friendly community.

Last year’s Mayor, Cllr Tom Clare, is head of the Kendal Dementia Action Alliance, and has been approaching local businesses, community groups and schools about becoming dementia friendly.

He said: “Key groups that we’re desperate to see becoming involved include staff in the financial services sector, and in cafes, so people with dementia can go in and have a coffee or a tea and feel comfortable.

“It’s all about making a better lifestyle for people.”

Justine McCoy, dementia friends champion and Kendal’s Alzheimer’s Society services manager, added that it was vital for medical staff to become dementia aware.

“I would like to see frontline staff anywhere, such as banks or retailers, become dementia friends, but particularly those in medical services, such as pharmacies,” she said.

“I want people with dementia to go to the library, the post office, the leisure centre, and have the same feeling of inclusion and independence that they would have in one of our Alzheimer’s Society groups.”

To date, businesses including Marks & Spencer, Asda, Santander, Lloyds Pharmacy, easyJet, Argos, Homebase and The Royal Bank of Scotland have encouraged their staff to become dementia friends.

They join schools, the police, the fire service and transport providers in a concerted effort to build a dementia friendly society.

Another of Cumbria’s 118 dementia friends champions is Elspeth Horsman, of Kendal, who has trained around 300 dementia friends in two years.

Said Elspeth: “I had an aunt with dementia who I had looked after some years before, and wish I had known then what I learned during the training session, because it would have helped me a lot with how to talk to her.

“In general people are uncomfortable about dementia and this initiative is all about reducing fear and avoidance.

“You learn that quizzing someone with dementia isn’t helpful – they may not be able to answer questions but they have an emotional memory, so they’ll remember that you smiled at them, and what gives them confidence is not to put them on the spot.

“The more people who become dementia friends the more our society will support people who have it.

“You can be on the lookout and offer help to people in shops or at bus stops who look a bit confused or you can carry on visiting a neighbour or friend who has dementia.”

The Alzheimer’s Society says that nearly two thirds of people with dementia experience loneliness and almost half report losing friends after their diagnosis.

Hilary Southall became as a dementia friend after attending one of Elspeth’s sessions and said what she gained from it was “the confidence to take things slowly.”

“One of the things Elspeth had us doing was thinking about all the stages involved in making a cup of tea, and how we accompany someone with that process,” she said.

“I wanted to do the training because it’s an increasing need in society for us to be dementia aware and to take it slowly with people.”

Other positive moves in the area include a new Cumbria Police project set up specifically to support families of people in south Cumbria that are experiencing dementia.

The project, the first of its kind in the country, is being set up with Dignity in Dementia and looks to help families that have family members with dementia.

The project is being supported by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Richard Rhodes.

He said: “I would urge families and friends who are worried about the safety of a person with dementia in the South Lakes to approach the project team on 07771 682378.”

To find out more about becoming a dementia friend visit www.dementiafriends.org.uk.