Dementia Action Week – May 17-21
Led by the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia Action Week sees the public come together to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.
If you’re close to someone with dementia, you’ll know about the challenges they face.
Getting through day-to-day life can be really tough for both individuals and their families.
But they’re not alone, and there’s lots of support available right here in Wrexham.
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For example, our Allied Health Professionals (AHP) team can help in lots of ways.
The team includes:
- Speech therapists, who can offer tips and techniques to help people express themselves better and improve their confidence through talking.
- Dieticians, who can help individuals and families lead a healthy lifestyle, and help tackle some of the common dietary side-effects of dementia (e.g. change in appetite).
- Physiotherapists, who can help people retain their mobility, stay physically active and reduce their risk of falling.
- Occupational therapists, who can look at ways to adapt the home to help individuals and carers.
Make sure you know about changes to Covid-19 restrictions in Wales.
How to get help
If you have a relative whose living with dementia, and you’re wondering how to get help from the AHP team, speak with your GP. Or if you’re already receiving support from the Memory Clinic at the Maelor Hospital, you can access the AHP team from there.
As well as providing help with speech, diet, mobility and home adaptations, the team can also signpost individuals and families to other support services.
Steve Catherall, who works as a Team Leader, says: “The coronavirus pandemic has made things even more difficult for many families, but we’re here to help.
“In fact we’ve supported nearly a hundred people with dementia and their families in the past 12 months, and have found innovative ways to help…even when restrictions have meant less home visits.
“Living with dementia is a huge challenge, and we try to support individuals and families as much as we can.”
Councillor Joan Lowe, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Adult Social Care, says: “The AHP project is there to support people recently diagnosed with dementia.
“It’s being piloted in Wrexham, and will hopefully be scaled up in the future to cover the whole of North Wales.
“The focus is on supporting the physical and psychological wellbeing of individuals, enhancing their daily living experience, adapting their home and surroundings, and supporting their families and carers.
“I’m very proud of the work the team is doing – it’s making a huge difference to people’s lives and is another example of how Wrexham is committed to helping people who are living with dementia.”
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