A campaign to turn Wrexham into Wales’s first dementia-friendly town is gathering pace.
Local MP Ian Lucas is supporting the call from care organisation Pendine Park and urging businesses to sign up to the Purple Angels campaign at two events this week.
The idea to hold the events was the brainchild of Mr Lucas, whose mother suffers from dementia, and he hopes to be there on Wednesday and Thursday as part of National Dementia Awareness Week.
They have been organised by Wrexham-based Pendine Park and will be held at The Guildhall, on Wednesday, at 5.30pm and at the Lifestyle Coffee Bar at Coleg Cambria, formerly Yale College, at 2.30pm on Thursday.
Mr Lucas said: “Awareness of dementia is nowhere near as widespread as it needs to be and unless you have first hand experience of what it is through your own family, as I do, then there is a great lack of understanding.
“If you haven’t seen what it’s like and how it presents itself then it can lead to misunderstanding and upset but it is something we can do something about by making more people aware of what it is.
“That’s very important in areas like hospitals and shops and for organisations like the health service and the police where a misunderstanding of a person with dementia could lead to all kinds of difficulties.”
Mr Lucas added that he would like to see as many people as possible come along to the events which will feature presentations on dementia and where they will be able to pick up information packs and posters to help them make staff and the public aware of the campaign.
Anita Moran, Activities and Well-being Coordinator at Pendine Park’s Hillbury care home, and the first person in Wales to become an ambassador for the worldwide Purple Angels campaign, also knows what dementia means in a loved one.
Her late father, Barry, suffered from the disease and she said: “My dad was actually sectioned under the Mental Health Act, and that was the first we knew that he had dementia.
“None of us had realised, we just thought he was getting older. We realised about four years ago. He went into a home and because he’d had it so long he was getting to the later stages by the time we found out. He just hid it so well.”
The truth dawned on Anita the day her late mother, Jean, had a heart attack.
Anita said: “My sister phoned the ambulance. She went to the hospital, and the next morning my sister went round to see my dad and he couldn’t remember where he was.
“He couldn’t remember the paramedics being there. He thought my mum had left him.”
She added: “I went on the internet and there are a lot of dementia awareness and support groups and the Purple Angels actually started online and I asked to be involved.
“I was one of the very first ambassadors and there are now 150 worldwide, including Chris Hodge, who also works for Pendine, from the USA to Nepal, Germany and New Zealand.
“It’s all about raising awareness because there are a lot of peopke with dementia who are living in their own homes and they don’t even realise they have it.
“We want to make sure that staff in shops are more aware, so if someone there is uncertain or hesitant then it could be that they have dementia and treat them with care and consideration.
“It’s just about taking that little bit of extra time with someone who seems a bit confused and the information we have can help staff in shops realise that and we also have stickers so people with dementia know that they will be treated considerately in that store.”
Ian Lucas added: “Dementia is not limited to very frail, elderly people in care homes. Many people with dementia are now caring for themselves.
“They may be out and about in Wrexham, with or without care and support and could be coming into contact with staff in shops around the town.
“Wrexham has always had the reputation of being a friendly, tolerant and welcoming town and it would be wonderful if we could achieve Dementia-Friendly status”.
