Coleg y Cymoedd become the first college in Wales to lead the way to becoming dementia-friendly

Because of one forward thinking and driven Welsh Baccalaureate student at the Nangarw campus of Coleg y Cymoedd, the college have very recently been awarded the recognition of ‘working towards becoming dementia friendly’ through the Alzheimer’s Society’s official recognition process.

After completing work experience with the Alzheimer’s Society, Sam Andrews felt that his college would be the perfect community to embark on this project.

After an initial meeting between the society and the college, Sam went away to work on an action plan which included looking at making all of the customer facing departments in the college Dementia Friendly, this included their hair and beauty department and catering sections.

The staff have now received awareness sessions to become Dementia Friends.

The college will be holding a launch event in September to celebrate receiving this recognition. Campus Director Karen James is delighted with the progress that Sam has made with this and said:

A report by Alzheimer’s Society, ‘Building Dementia Friendly Communities: A priority for everyone’, which reveals less than half of people living with dementia feel a part of the community (47%) and nearly three quarters (73%) of UK adults surveyed in a YouGov poll do not think society is geared up to deal with dementia.

Many people with dementia reported feeling trapped in their own homes and let down by their communities, with one in three only getting out once a week and one in 10 only manage this once a month.

For the first time, an economic analysis commissioned by the charity also shows that Dementia Friendly Communities could save £11,000 per person per year by helping people with dementia to remain independent, stay out of care for longer and have a better quality of life.

The charity is delighted that the college is the first of its kind in Wales and is taking action to become dementia-friendly and is now calling on more colleges to follow in their footsteps.

There are 2,500 living with dementia in Rhondda Cynon Taff and by creating a dementia-friendly college will help reduce stigma and make people feel confident to use the wonderful facilities that are available to them.

Communities that are becoming dementia-friendly can sign up to Alzheimer’s Society’s official recognition process and work towards gaining a symbol that could be displayed.

Operations manager Melanie Andrews for Alzheimer’s Society in South East Wales, said:

‘It is great to hear of the positive work happening in Coleg y Cymoedd. They are setting a president and I hope many more will follow across the country. We want people from all walks of life and backgrounds to join the Dementia Friendly Communities movement.

‘It is good to see how far we have come but unfortunately there are still too many people with dementia who do not feel supported and part of their local area; they feel trapped in their own home, isolated, lonely and a burden.

‘Many people with dementia are not able to take part in activities they enjoyed before they developed the condition, they want to engage with society but need support.

‘It is possible to make small changes that will make their day to day lives much better and being able to stay part of a community for longer, rather than moving into a care home, which will also save society money. I would urge everyone to find out more on how you and your neighbourhood can become a dementia friendly community.’

For more information on Dementia Friendly Communities and the official recognition process log on to www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementiafriendlycommunities or to find out more on how to become a Dementia Friend and Friends Champion log on to www.dementiafriends.org.uk