NNUH to mark Dementia Awareness Week 2017 by hosting information and advice fayre

Liz Yaxley, NNUH Dementia Services Manager

Anyone living with dementia and their families and carers are invited to a dementia information and advice fayre at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on Monday 15th May to mark the start of Dementia Awareness Week 2017 (May 14th – 20th).

There will be information stands from a range of public and charity sector community providers including: Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK Norfolk, Age UK Norwich, Norfolk County Council, Wymondham Support Group, Norfolk Carers Support, Equal Lives and many more. As well as these groups, there will be information stands to highlight the dementia support services which are available within the Trust.

The event will be held in the East Atrium on levels one and two from 10am, and in the afternoon there will be talks for the public from 2pm to 7pm in the Benjamin Gooch Lecture Theatre. These talks will feature a variety of information, guidance and practical tips about dementia support.

Liz Yaxley, Dementia Services Manager at NNUH said: “NNUH makes sure to mark Dementia Awareness Week every year, and this year we wanted to do something a little different. Inviting external providers into the Trust is a great opportunity for people living with dementia and their families and carers to see how much dementia support there is on offer in the Norfolk area.”

Liz added:“The NNUH Dementia Fayre is going to be a really great event and we’re hoping to see as many people as possible on the day.”

An estimated 16,400 people in Norfolk have dementia, either diagnosed or undiagnosed. This is an equivalent to 1 in every 53 people in Norfolk or the populations of Cromer, Hunstanton and Holt combined.

Martyn Patel, NNUH Lead Consultant for Dementia said: “Norfolk has a higher than average older population and dementia is a subject which will be very important to many people in the community. The event is a fantastic opportunity for those living with dementia and their carers to find out about support which they may not know is available to them.”

Emma McKay, NNUH Director of Nursing said: “Ensuring those living with dementia and their carers receive the support they need is very important to us, and we are always looking at different ways to promote what support is available. The information stands at the fayre will highlight the key services offered inside and outside of the Trust, and it will be a great opportunity to show how important it is to work together when supporting those affected by dementia.”

The information stands will be running from 10am with the talks running from 2pm to 7pm.

There will be musical entertainment throughout the day, including a performance from the NNUH choir, with refreshments available in a dedicated pop-up café for the day which will be situated in the East Atrium level one.

For more information about the fayre, please contact the NNUH Media and Communications team on communications@nnuh.nhs.uk