19 May 2022

H&F holds first afternoon tea and Dementia Fair to support residents and carers

People living with dementia and their families and carers joined our community at a lively Dementia Fair.

Categories:
Health and care

Guests at the Dementia Fair inside Sands End Arts & Community Centre, Fulham

To mark national Dementia Action Week 2022, people living with dementia and their families and carers joined charities, the council, health services and businesses at a lively Dementia Fair.

They enjoyed afternoon tea, got information about services and celebrated the launch of the borough's Dementia Action Alliance.

The bustling event was held on Tuesday (17 May) at the newly opened Sands End Arts & Community Centre.

Deputy council leader Cllr Ben Coleman launched the fair and said: "We're determined to make H&F a great place to live for people with dementia and their families and carers, and are working with residents, charities, businesses, the NHS and Imperial College to improve support across the borough."

The event drew on the fully inclusive and dementia friendly Active Minds Wellbeing Programme for adults, which includes weekly painting, drawing and mono-printing sessions and is supported by H&F's public health and sports development teams.

Residents took part in group singing, poetry and genealogy before enjoying an afternoon tea. On display was an exhibition of artwork by residents of all ages and all abilities who have taken part in Active Minds.

Valerie, a Sands End resident, said, "It was so nice to get out and I really enjoyed the social aspect, not to mention all the information I received."

There were stalls from local organisations including Action on Disability, the Carers Network, the Alzheimer's Society, Memory Clinic, For Brian and DanceWest, to name a few, as well as council services, including from H&F's Adult Social Care team.

The new H&F Dementia Partnership Board partnered with the H&F Dementia Action Alliance to invite all residents with a diagnosis of dementia or mild cognitive impairment to the event.

Council pledges

Cllr Coleman drew attention to the newly re-elected administration's manifesto commitments around dementia. "We look forward to working with you to achieve these pledges – and to you holding us to them", he said.

The manifesto – which will now become council policy – states:

We will make the borough a dementia-friendly community and implement the Hammersmith & Fulham Dementia Strategy. This will include:

Working with the NHS to increase diagnosis and trained support for people living with dementia;

Offering a range of dementia-specific and dementia-inclusive activities that give choice and control;

Reducing social isolation for people living with dementia;

Providing clear accessible information about how to get services and support; and

Establishing a Dementia Partnership Board to oversee the strategy."

Dementia Partnership Board

Deputy council leader Cllr Ben Coleman (pictured) launched the Dementia Fair

The H&F Dementia Partnership Board will oversee the implementation of H&F's new Dementia Strategy (pdf 760KB). It consists of local residents, councillors, community and voluntary organisations, local businesses, and NHS and council staff.

The strategy aims to achieve borough-wide improvements to dementia care and to make H&F a dementia-friendly community.

The Board will also ensure that the ground-breaking work by the UK Dementia Research Institute's Care Research & Technology Centre at Imperial College and the Imperial Memory Unit at Charing Cross Hospital is brought into H&F's work with residents living with dementia.

Work with us

H&F would like residents living with dementia and their families and carers to help us co-produce improvements to dementia services, therapies and support. If you would like to get involved or share your thoughts, please email: wecoproduceASC@lbhf.gov.uk