Working together

Photo: Darren Robinson

WE’RE on board: the Oldham Chronicle Dementia Friends with Debbie Abrahams, centre, and Sue Neilson, third left, back.

MORE than 20 members of staff at the Chronicle are now Dementia Friends after completing the course this week.

The hour-long session, run by coordinator of the Dementia Partnership support team and Dementia Friend champion Sue Neilson, included discussions about the condition, how sufferers are affected and what people can do to help them retain independence and individuality.

Sue added personal experience to the session - her father was diagnosed with dementia and she recounted events as he went through difficult situations.

“Dementia is a massive issue for society,” she said. “Unless we all work together the situation is not going to improve.

“I know from my father’s experience that people don’t know enough about the disease or how people can be affected by it. This campaign is about raising the level of awareness to help those with dementia to live well.”

The campaign reveals the progression of dementia, not just memory loss but also the way it affects an individual’s perception of the world - making everyday situations such as tea-making difficult and sometimes impossible.

Oldham Chronicle managing editor Dave Whaley said: “We are all aware dementia is a major problem not just in Oldham but nationwide. Helping to raise awareness of the issue is exactly what a local newspaper should be doing.

“I’d urge all local businesses to follow our lead and enable their staff to become Dementia Friends, to help Oldham meet its target before Christmas.”

The Chronicle’s dementia awareness session was also attended by Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams - a proud supporter of the initiative. The Labour MP was the first in Westminster to be trained as a Dementia Friends champion, in May, and has since hosted a session in Parliament to train other MPs.

She said: “The Chronicle’s campaign is absolutely fantastic. We are an aging society and by 2025 over a million people will have been diagnosed with dementia across the UK.

“If we are to properly support them we need to start building the kind of dementia-friendly Oldham we want now. We mustn’t forget their carers either - who contribute so much and can often feel isolated themselves.”