Broadcaster Angela Rippon talks dementia at the LGA conference ...

Published 8 July 2013

Alzheimer's Society ambassador Angela Rippon OBE helped man the charity stand at the Local Government Association Conference in Manchester.

Miss Rippon, who was at the event as a guest speaker to give her views on adult social care and what can be done to improve it, called in at the stand to support Alzheimer's Society staff.

Visitors were treated to the broadcaster's vast knowledge on dementia and heard her talk about how the charity wants to create dementia friendly communities.

Miss Rippon became an ambassador for Alzheimer's Society four years ago and has previously spoken of her experiences of caring for her mother, Edna, who died in 2009.

The former BBC newsreader co-chairs the Dementia Friendly Communities Champions Group alongside Alzheimer's Society Chief Executive, Jeremy Hughes, which focuses on improving inclusion and quality of life for people living with dementia.

She said:

'It is important to get the views of people living with dementia and their carers as to what will make a more dementia friendly community. We need to have a better understanding of dementia.

There are 800,000 people known to be living with dementia, adding to that those who don't have a diagnosis, we could easily be looking at more than a million people, and then there is the possibility of them each having a carer, making two million people needing support.

People can live well with dementia in their own homes and community which is a saving in the health and social care budget. We want to train staff in shops, offices, the police, fire brigade; sports clubs and much more to become dementia friendly and it will really make a difference to the person with dementia and their carers. Education in schools also means we will create a dementia friendly generation.'

Source: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=1667

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