HOME Instead Senior Care East Northants are trying to encourage local businesses to become dementia friendly.
As there are approximately 850,000 people in the UK who have dementia the company feels it is important to have an understanding of this distressing illness, and to be able to give assistance and support as they try to carry out everyday tasks that may make them more anxious or even confused.
If your staff have been trained they will quickly be aware that things may need to be explained more slowly or repeated so their customer grasps the situation, this is so important to allow them the independence to carry out tasks for as long as possible enabling them to remain in their own.
What needs to be remembered is that dementia does not affect the intelligence of a person. Dementia can affect everyone differently, including memory problems, thinking, concentration and language. A person may find they can’t problem solve simple tasks such as making a cup of tea. Have you ever thought about the number of steps it takes to make a cup of tea? Healthy people take these things for granted, but if one step in the sequence is missed out the teabag could end up in the kettle, the hot water may be poured into the sugar bowl.
This is why it is so important for businesses to attend dementia workshops because it is only when they engage with a customer that they will be aware that there may be an issue. Also it is not just the elderly that are affected by dementia. This cruel disease can affect younger people. In fact, 40,000 people under the age of 65 have a dementia related disease in the UK today.
There are so many different types of dementia, and the main groups are Alzheimer’s Disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia. This could also benefit a family member who supports a partner or other family member with dementia as this can be a stressful and upsetting time.
If having read this you like to become dementia friendly speak to Home Instead Senior Care East Northants on 01933 678775 for details of workshops.