The commitment of the City of Wolverhampton Council to support people living with dementia has been recognised after it was nominated for a national award.
The council was named runner up in the Dementia Friendly Organisation of the Year category at the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friendly Awards, an annual celebration of the achievements of individuals and organisations in creating dementia-friendly communities around the UK.
The accolade recognises the efforts of the council, its partners and members of the Wolverhampton Dementia Action Alliance in making the city as welcoming and supportive as possible to people living with dementia, and to giving them and their carers more choice and control over their lives.
Councillor Sandra Samuels OBE, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “Dementia is a debilitating condition which affects nearly a million people in the UK, including 3,600 residents in Wolverhampton.
“The council and its partners are determined to make Wolverhampton as dementia-friendly as possible, not only improving the lives of people with dementia, but also the lives of their families and carers.
“We are proud of the steps we are taking to make our city dementia-friendly, and to be named as runner-up in the large organisation category at these prestigious awards is testament to the fantastic work which is underway in Wolverhampton to achieve these ambitions.”
The council has long been committed to improving the lives of people with dementia and their carers, being one of the first signatories to former Prime Minster David Cameron’s appeal to create Dementia Friendly Communities in 2012.
Members of the council’s Cabinet were the first in the country to collectively become Dementia Friends, while council employees continue to undertake mandatory dementia awareness courses and have also been invited to become Dementia Friends.
A Joint Dementia Strategy, based upon what residents say they need from local services, has been developed by the council and Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group, while the council and the Dementia Action Alliance are working closely with organisations in the city – from banks to retailers and faith groups – to enable them to make their services as flexible and responsive as possible to people living with dementia.
Wolverhampton also has a network of very popular Dementia Cafes, commissioned by the council and delivered by the Alzheimer’s Society, which meet regularly at venues around the city and offer help and support to people living with dementia.
Meanwhile the council has worked with the University of Wolverhampton to develop high tech “smart posters”, which can be found in locations around the city and enables people to get easy access to information, advice and other online content by scanning the posters with their mobile phones.
The nomination also reflected the way the city came together to mark Dementia Awareness Week in May 2016, with a wide range of events including a charity football match at Molineux organised by Wolverhampton-based JJX Logistics, a Denim for Dementia fundraising day, drop-in advice sessions, activities in residential care homes, a vintage tea dance and even a fundraising charity car wash at Fallings Park Fire Station.
To find out more about the help and support available in Wolverhampton, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/dementia.