West Middlesex University Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital support Dementia Awareness Week

Next week is Dementia Awareness Week and West Middlesex University Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital will be supporting the cause by holding information stands in the hospital entrance at West Middlesex and in the performance space at Chelsea and Westminster to provide patients, family and carers with all they need to know about the condition.

Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with:

• memory loss
• thinking speed
• mental agility
• language
• understanding
• judgement

Dementia usually occurs in people over the age of 65, although it can also affect younger people, but with an aging population this means we are likely to see a rise in the number of people with the condition. Early diagnosis can help people with dementia get the right treatment to slow it down and maintain mental function, as well as help relatives to prepare and plan for the future.

On Monday 16 May and Wednesday 18 May, from 10am–3pm, West Middlesex’s Dementia Nurses and Dementia Champions will be running information stands to help raise awareness of the condition and to share specialist advice, as well as provide useful information on other local community support groups.

The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’s Dementia Nurses and Dementia Champions will also be running a similar information stand on Thursday 19 May and Friday 20 May, from 10am–3pm.

Cathy McCann, Critical Care Lead Specialist Nurse at West Middlesex said: “A large proportion of people with dementia go undiagnosed because people are unaware of the condition and what can be done to manage it. At any given time around half of all inpatients at our hospital will be older people, aged 75 and above, and we would typically expect half of these to have dementia/delirium or both. This is why we are holding our two information stands—we want to raise as much awareness as possible and help the public, patients and carers with any advice or support they might need.”