A SUCCESSFUL conference in Ivybridge has brought together different organisations working to make life easier for dementia sufferers and their families.

The event, held at The Watermark united members of the Four Rivers Dementia Action Alliance, which came into being last autumn.

The aim of the alliance is to improve the lives of people living with the condition and their families, to enable them to continue to play an active role in their communities around the rivers Yealm, Erme, Avon and Plym.

The conference brought together representatives from local caring organisations, Beacon Medical Group, Dementia Friendly Parishes around the Yealm, Woolwell and Ivybridge Memory Cafés, local councils and schools.

The group heard from keynote speaker Ian Sherriff of Plymouth University, chairman of the prime minister’s Task and Finish Group for Rural Dementia and a trustee of the Alzheimers Society. Mr Sherriff praised the work that is already taking place in the area, but highlighted the need to raise awareness around dementia issues, to enable people with the condition to lead fulfilling lives.

The group considered how dementia friendly their current communities are, and what needs to be done to improve the situation. Ideas that arose were working more closely with the local farming community, and improving promotion of local memory cafes.

The importance of having a single point of contact for information and support in each town and village was also identified.

Sue Burgess from South Brent and District Caring, who helped to organise the conference said: ’It was a very useful and interesting morning and we were pleased with the wide variety of people who took the time to attend the event.

’As an organisation we always try to ensure that our activities are accessible to everyone, including those living with dementia, but there is always more that can be done to make everyone feel welcome.

’When someone is diagnosed with dementia they will often withdraw from community life but we want to raise awareness within our communities so that this doesn’t happen.’

The alliance plans to offer more awareness raising sessions and training for local volunteers over the coming months. Its next meeting is in the Beacon Room at The Watermark on Thursday, April 21, from 10am – noon.

Anyone interested in supporting the work of the alliance and helping to spread the message would be warmly welcomed.