IT’S a disease that affects 850,000 people in the UK and one in six people over the age of 80 – and there is still no cure.

But how aware are you about the causes, signs, effects and facts of Dementia?

To shine some light on the disease and its effect of communities Care UK’s Scarlet House care home in Stroud is partnering with Stroud District Council to launch Stroud’s Dementia Friendly District campaign.

The campaign will be officially launched on Tuesday May 17 as part of Dementia Awareness Week.

Residents are invited to Stroud District Council’s offices in Ebley from 2pm-5pm to talk to representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK and Gloucester Older People’s Alliance.

They will be on hand to answer questions on funding, carers’ allowances and what support is available in Stroud for people living with dementia and their loved ones.

There will also be two free Dementia Friends’ sessions at Ebley Mill, from 1-2pm and 6-7pm.

Dementia Friends is an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society designed to change public perceptions and encourage better understanding of dementia.

The sessions aim to support local people to understand what it is like to live well with dementia and help the district take a step closer to becoming a dementia-friendly community.

“We are excited to be partnering with Stroud District Council for what promises to be an interesting and informative day of events,” said Jim MacLeod, customer relations manager at Scarlet House and Dementia Friends champion.

“At Scarlet House we have a commitment to encourage others to learn about dementia and to broaden their understanding, which is why we are opening our doors during Dementia Awareness Week.”

Emma Keating Clark, health coordinator at Stroud District Council said: “We are delighted to be working closely with Scarlet House to launch our Dementia Friendly District Campaign.

“This is a brilliant opportunity for us to join forces and support this important initiative. We want to educate people, but also help the community to turn their knowledge into action to make our district more aware of those living with dementia.

“There are brilliant groups all over our district and we hope this campaign supports their work and helps to connect people living with dementia to the community around them.”

Midcounties Co-operative, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose Stroud have all signed up for Dementia Friend training for their staff.

Ian Matthews, store manager at The Midcounties Co-operative Food in Cainscross, said: “Dementia affects a huge number of people, and as a Co-operative we feel it’s our responsibility to work in partnership with the local community to help those with the condition to continue to live an independent life.

“By working with Scarlet House and Stroud District Council we can help to educate and train our colleagues and the wider community about the importance of causes like Dementia Friends, which will make a valuable impact to the lives of those in our community.”

Wendy Light, of Waitrose in Stroud added: “We are extremely pleased to be supporting this campaign and we hope by attending the awareness sessions we will be able to increase our support for our customers with dementia.”

This year’s Dementia Awareness Week runs from May 15-21.

Situated in Ebley, Scarlet House is a state-of-the-art care home designed to deliver the very best standards of care, and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives.

The home offers a range of services including residential care, specialist dementia care and respite care.

For further information on Scarlet House or to book a place on to Dementia Friends sessions, visit www.careuk.com/scarlet-house or call customer relations manager, Jim Macleod, on 01453 807241 or email: jim.macleod@careuk.com

  • What is dementia?
  • Dementia describes different brain disorders that trigger a loss of brain function. These conditions are all usually progressive and eventually severe.
  • Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting 62 per cent of those diagnosed.
  • Other types of dementia include; vascular dementia affecting 17 per cent of those diagnosed, mixed dementia affecting 10 per cent of those diagnosed.
  • Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, confusion and problems with speech and understanding. Dementia is a terminal condition.
  • There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025. This will soar to 2 million by 2051.
  • 225,000 will develop dementia this year, that’s one every three minutes.
  • One in six people over the age of 80 have dementia.
  • Seventy per cent of people in care homes have dementia or severe memory problems.
  • There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease or any other type of dementia.
  • For every person living with dementia, the annual cost to the UK economy is over £30,000 and yet only £90 is spent on dementia research each year.