Four members of our Reception and Private Client teams recently took part in a Dementia Awareness Session kindly delivered in our office by Chris Parker of Abbey Funeral Services in Tonbridge and we are delighted that they are all now Dementia Friends.
Chris is Chair of the Tonbridge Dementia Friendly Community and gave a valuable insight into the challenges faced by those living with dementia and some excellent suggestions and advice as to how we can be of more assistance and more accommodating to our clients who live with dementia.
There are currently over 850,000 people in the UK (and over 4,500 people in the Tonbridge and Malling area) living independently with dementia and many more people who are undiagnosed. This number is expected to rise to over a million by 2020. As such, we can all make a difference by becoming more dementia aware.
Chris explained that as well as memory loss, different types of dementia produce different symptoms and brain functions; movement and mobility, sequencing, perception and recognition can all be affected.
It has been invaluable understanding more about dementia and what we can do as a business, and as individuals, to support our clients who are either living with dementia or who are caring for those who do.
To find out more about becoming a Dementia Friend, click here: https://tonbridgedfc.org.uk/
