There are currently around 850,000 people living with Dementia in the UK. This is set to increase to over one million by the year 2025. It has been quoted that 1 in 3 people born in the UK this year will develop dementia in their lifetime.
Dementia is an umbrella term that is used to class a range of progressive disorders that affect the brain. There are many different types of dementia and each person will experience their dementia differently. The four most common types of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Frontotemporal and dementia with Lewy bodies. Symptoms generally include memory problems, impaired cognitive ability and communication issues.
Dementia is a huge global concern for us all, and as a person’s life expectancy rate increases so does the chance of developing dementia.
Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team Plymouth is lucky to be working with a society called Dementia Friends. This is one of the biggest initiatives to change people’s perception, and is helping to transform the way the nation thinks about dementia. They offer a huge amount of support for people who live with dementia and also their families.
We have recently had a couple of the core members from Dementia Friends visit our Rescue centre. They gave a very informative and interesting talk on dementia.
With the increase in rates of dementia, our team may potentially be called out to a person who has dementia. We have dedicated several training nights in learning how to deal with this type of scenario, ensuring a compassionate manner and proficient execution of the call out is our main focus at all times.
For more information on Dementia friends please see the below link.
dementiafriends.org.uk
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