GMW launches Dementia information courses
Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust is running specialist courses for people affected by dementia and their carers as well as healthcare staff and the public to raise awareness about dementia and what everyone can do to help support people with dementia.
Dementia Friends information sessions are about an hour long and are being held from 14 May to 20 August 2014 in Salford, Bolton, Trafford and Prestwich. The sessions are run by Dementia Friends Champions and are fully endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Society. Anyone can attend and each session is free.
Dementia Friends is an initiative to help members of the public understand what it might be like to live with dementia and then turn that understanding into action. The Alzheimer’s Society is aiming to have one million Dementia Friends by 2015 to help improve the lives of those living with dementia and their carers.
The Friends’ sessions will provide people with facts about the illness and information so they feel confident in understanding people’s experience of living with dementia. The session will also direct them to further information and support available.
The Trust’s Dementia, Recovery, Health and Wellbeing course is for people with a recent diagnosis of dementia, their carers, relatives, friends and professionals who support people with dementia.
The free course is for a full day and is held on the 16 May and the 5 September 2014 in Bolton.
The course will cover facts about dementia, common symptoms, treatments available, as well as technologies and techniques that will help people to cope with the effects of dementia from telecare to cognitive coping strategies.
The next Dementia Friends information session is on 14 May 2014 at Gloucester House in Salford and the next Dementia, Recovery, Health and Wellbeing course is on 16 May 2014 at Aspen Day Unit, Royal Bolton Hospital.
All the courses are run by the Trust’s Recovery Academy, which provides a range of free educational courses and resources for people with mental health and substance misuse problems, their families and carers as well as healthcare professionals.
The range of courses available and locations will vary as the Academy responds to the demands of its students.
To book your place or find out more about upcoming courses visit the Recovery Academy home page. Alternatively you can email recoveryacademy@gmmh.nhs.uk or telephone 0161 772 3782.
