New guidance to help local councils and their communities become dementia friendly has been released today (30 November) - with the Prime Minister endorsing the work as 'excellent and practical'.
Developed by the University of Plymouth and National Association for Local Councils (NALC), the Dementia Friendly Communities Guide was compiled based on successful case studies and research that have made a tangible difference to people with dementia and their carers.
Launched today at NALC's conference, the guide contains a checklist and reminders, such as:
- Having dementia-friendly initiatives as a regular agenda item at monthly council meetings.
- Doing an audit of dementia support initiatives already in place to identify gaps.
- Ensuring that all public buildings are dementia friendly.
Ian Sherriff BEM, Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia at the University of Plymouth, recently met with the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to discuss why the guidance was important. Now that it has been released, Mr Johnson was pleased to provide a letter of endorsement for its contents, and hoped it would 'inspire people across the UK to create their own vibrant and inclusive Rural Dementia Communities'.
