All hands on deck to create decorations for NNUH Dementia Fayre on May 15th

Claudia Rumford, NNUH Dementia Support Worker

Members of staff at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital have been dedicating their spare time to create decorations for the Dementia Fayre which will be held in the East Atrium on Monday May 15th to mark Dementia Awareness Week 2017. The fayre will be a chance for those living with dementia and their families and carers to find out what support is on offer in Norfolk.

Claudia Rumford, NNUH Dementia Support Worker has been busy organising bunting packs and giving them to teams across the hospital. Claudia said: “Creating the bunting shows how everyone has been working together to spread dementia awareness, and has meant that the event will be beautifully decorated in a blue colour theme to fit those colours associated with dementia support. These bunting packs have been decorated by both staff and patients across the Trust who have wanted to support the event in any way they can.”

The bunting will be used to decorate the East Atrium where there will be information stands from more than twenty 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.

Information stands will be running from 10am-5pm, in addition to talks for the public in the Benjamin Gooch Lecture Theatre. These talks will feature a variety of information, guidance and practical tips about dementia support.

The day will be hosting a pop-up dementia café and musical entertainment will be provided throughout the day.

Claudia said: “We’ve had an amazing response from teams across the hospital who have wanted to support the NNUH Dementia Fayre. I’d like to say a massive thank you to all those who have helped out so far, including Chaplaincy, the Improvement team, Elsing Ward, Buxton Ward and Denton Ward to name just a few!”

Liz Yaxley, Dementia Services Manager at NNUH said: “Dementia affects so many people across Norfolk, and the Trust wanted to host an event to show how much dementia support there is on offer in the local area and mark Dementia Awareness Week 2017 in a special way.”

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.

Emma McKay, NNUH Director of Nursing said: “We are always looking at how we can support those living with dementia and their families and carers, and the fayre will be a fantastic opportunity to highlight the services offered inside and outside the Trust.”

For more information about the Dementia Fayre on May 15th 2017, please contact the NNUH Media and Communications team on 01603 289943.