The Fremantle Trust has launched its debut dementia friendly café at Fremantle Court, Stoke Mandeville, as well as engaging with shoppers in Aylesbury to mark Dementia Action Week (20th-26th May).

The awareness week, set up by Alzheimer’s Society, was established to unite people, workplaces, schools and communities to take action and improve the lives of people living with dementia.

On Friday 24th May, employees and residents from Fremantle Court nursing home in Stoke Mandeville were joined by the Mayor and members of the community to mark the launch of the Trust’s first dementia friendly café, a welcoming space to relax and chat, designed specifically to support the needs of people living with dementia.

The Trust also celebrated signing up to the Aylesbury Town Dementia Action Alliance, which is co-ordinated by Aylesbury Town Council to ensure that Aylesbury is a dementia-aware hub. In light of this, members of the team from the Trust ran an information stall at Friars Square shopping centre in Aylesbury on Thursday 23rd May from 10am-4pm, to help raise awareness of dementia.

Shoppers were invited to sample tasty smoothies and nutritional flapjacks, as well as learn about how to create ‘memory boards’ and ‘busy boxes’ to support reminiscence and effective communication with people living with dementia.

Commenting on the week’s activity, Jill Conroy, Dementia Lead at The Fremantle Trust, said:

We are extremely passionate about ensuring we embed the latest insights around dementia care into our day-to-day services. It’s important for us to share information and support local people in Aylesbury to be as informed as possible and to help people to live well with dementia.

Dr Sian Roberts, Mental Health Clinical Director for NHS Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which forms part of the Buckinghamshire Integrated Care System, said:

Dementia friendly communities are an invaluable way to support people with dementia to live independently for as long as possible. The Fremantle Trust has shown fantastic community spirit in providing a Dementia Friendly Café to support people with dementia and their carers so they can enjoy quality time together.

 

We continue to support our communities with a range of initiatives, as together we work towards making Buckinghamshire a Dementia Friendly county.

Cllr Tim Dixon, Chairman of the Communities Committee, Aylesbury Town Council, added:

Aylesbury Town Council are really pleased with the impact our collaborative work to raise dementia awareness in the community continues to achieve. Creating more venues to visit such as cafes, theatres and shops is a brilliant example of living well in the community, and one I am sure we will continue to do, not only as a Parish Council, but as members of the Aylesbury Town Dementia Action Alliance. Keep up the good work!