Local care home believes in life after dementia

This week a local care home is using a national awareness campaign to send out a reassuring message to people worried about dementia – that it is possible to live well with dementia.

Throughout Dementia Awareness Week, which runs from 18 to 24 May, The Grange Care Centre in Faringdon is holding a series of activities aimed at helping people understand dementia and showing how to participate and still enjoy everyday life while living with the illness.

“Dementia is one of people’s biggest health concerns, they see it as a death sentence but it’s not. We want to help break down the stigma associated with dementia and show people that if you take a positive approach to the illness you can live well with dementia,” says Wendy Mead, manager of The Grange.

One of the ways of managing dementia that the team at The Grange will be explaining is through the use of its specially created memory boards, as Wendy explains: “What people may not realise about dementia is that sufferers have a stronger long-term memory than short-term, so it’s important to involve them in things they would have known when they were younger. Things that trigger conversation and discussion, reminiscence and life history are now known to improve the well-being and quality of the life of people with dementia.”

Members of the public who want to find out more about dementia and how they can best support relatives, friends or themselves, be it in a care home or in the community, are welcome to visit any time, with no appointment necessary.

“There can be very few people who don’t have friends or family who have been touched by dementia, and yet it is quite remarkable how little people know about making life easier for those living with the condition. We hope that friends, family and members of the public will come along to see best practice in operation during Dementia Awareness Week,” says Wendy.

The Grange is a residential nursing home offering 24-hour care to elderly residents and younger people in need of round the clock support, whether as respite, post-operative or long-term care. It is part of the Forest Healthcare family of homes, which includes 13 individual homes throughout the South East of England. For more information on The Grange, please visit www.foresthc.com or call 01367 718836. Those interested in a place at The Grange are welcome to visit at any time, with no appointment necessary.

ENDS

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