New project aims to make Swaffham a dementia-friendly town

Don Saunders is the new manager of the Iceni Partnership in Swaffham. Picture: Ian Burt.

Martin George Monday, April 15, 2013
7:00 AM

A new project hopes to bring together businesses, charities, care homes and youth groups to make Swaffham a dementia-friendly town for the increasing numbers of people with the condition. A meeting last Thursday came up with aims that include creating dementia-friendly buildings, training town centre businesses in how to help those affected, creating reminiscence packs at the library and holding music and sing-a-long sessions.

The groups already involved also plan to co-ordinate current services that are already offered in the town, to increase awareness of what is in place and identify gaps in current provision.Don Saunders, manager of the town’s Iceni Partnership, which run the community centre, came up with the idea.

He said: “We were getting one or two people who were obviously suffering with dementia coming into the community centre, being a bit confused and not knowing where they were, and our staff, particularly in the cafe, have made them a cup of tea and sat them down and talked to them.

“Swaffham has one of the oldest populations of the market towns around here so as Alzheimer’s and dementia are on the increase it figured to me that there were probably more people suffering and there may be more activities going on for them in the town but we did not know about them.”

One of the project’s aims is to produce a leaflet for carers and dementia sufferers about everything being offered in the town and what they hope to offer in the future.

People involved in the project are particularly keen to involve Swaffham youth groups and businesses, and could see signage displayed in shops to let people know which have trained staff.

Mr Saunders said: “They are keen [youth group are involved] because some of their relatives might end up with it so the earlier they learn about it and accept that it’s one of the things that can happen, the more they have that knowledge so that if it happens close by then they have got an understanding and they can be a bit more empathetic to people in society.”

He added: “The training would be offered to those shops and businesses free and hopefully it would be good for the people who are suffering and their carers to know that people in the town are aware of it.”

He said the project’s aims are low cost and achievable, and he hoped some would be in place by the summer.

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