Staff at a Wrexham private hospital are putting their best foot forward in aid of dementia on a sponsored walk next month.
Thirty of them from all departments of the Spire Yale Hospital in the town will set out on the five-mile route round Gresford, Marford and Rossett on Saturday, September 10.
They aim to raise a packet for the Alzheimer’s Society and to raise awareness of the disease and other dementia-related complaints.
Linda Jones, Head of Clinical Services at Spire Yale, said: “There’s an increasing incidence of Alzheimer’s and of dementia generally and we wanted to raise awareness of that.
“It’s also important to raise awareness among our own staff as we are having to treat people with dementia for a range of ailments and staff need to be sensitive to that as well.
“We are dementia-friendly and dementia champions and most of our staff have had the relevant training to help them treat the increasing number of people we see with this condition.
“It can be very difficult both for staff and for the patients themselves and it’s important we make sure our facilities are safe and suitable to care for people with dementia.
“We want to be able to treat everyone here at Spire Yale and that includes those with dementia because they suffer from all the same ailments and they can all benefit from being treated here.”
The walk originally aimed to raise £1,000 for the charity but organisers already reckon they have exceeded that and they have even set up a webpage so that people can donate online.
The Memory Walk by staff at Spire Yale is one of a series taking place across the UK this September in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Their research shows that 850,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia.
In less than 10 years a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to two million people by 2051.
Hospital director Sue Jones paid tribute to the dedication of the staff for going the extra mile in aid of such a good cause.
She said: “Dementia is a condition which is affecting an increasing number of people nationwide year on year, so it is more important than ever before that we all play a part in helping to raise awareness of what is a truly devastating condition.
“Memory Walk is a vital part of raising money for Alzheimer’s Society to fund research and provide services for people living with dementia.
“Last year 50,000 people of all ages and abilities from across the country took part, celebrating loved ones affected by the condition while raising an impressive £3.9m towards vital research into a cure.
“It is important we play a role in making the pubic more aware of Alzheimer’s and the effect it has on people and families.
“I think the caring attitude of those taking part in the Memory Walk just underlines the fact that we have a really wonderful team of caring individuals working here.”
For more information go to www.memorywalk.org.uk/
