A specialist team at a hospice in Cumbria are hoping locals will get involved with their work next week.

Dementia Action Week is a nationwide initiative aimed at encouraging people to learn how they can enhance the lives of those affected by dementia.

This year, the week is scheduled for May 13 to May 19, with the hospice kicking things off with an event at the Holiday Inn Express in Barrow. 

This will feature representatives from Age UK Barrow, Alzheimer’s UK, Barrow Library, NHS Older Adults Mental Health team and Barrow Integrated Care Community, as well as specialist dementia staff from St Mary’s.

It is open to anyone who wants to learn more about dementia, be that because they or someone important to them has a diagnosis or is experiencing issues, or because they want to know how they can make their business or group more dementia friendly.  

St Mary’s Admiral (specialist dementia) Nurse, Sophie Murphy-Ayeche, said: “Dementia is something that impacts families right across the UK, and there are thousands of people in our local area who have been diagnosed or who know someone who has.

“We know that, often, the period around diagnosis is especially difficult - people tell us that they don’t know where to turn or what support is available.

"We’re putting on this session to start the conversation with those who come along so that we can let them know what is available."

St Mary’s is one of a number of organisations that provide dementia support in the local area, with 1,357 people on the dementia register in the region.

Last month, together with the Alzheimer’s Society and Barrow and District Age UK, they launched the Furness Dementia Partnership. 

Sophie added: “When St Mary’s launched our dementia service, we always said that what was important was to work with other local providers to enhance what we can offer, collectively, to the public.

“With the Furness Dementia Partnership, we’re proud to be able to work with these other organisations to able to do that; because you have everyone involved in providing care coming together.

“We’ll all be represented at the event on May 13, and we hope to see as many members of the public there as possible.”

The event runs from 1:00pm until 3:00pm, in a drop-in format.

St Mary’s would like to thank the Holiday Inn Express for providing the venue free of charge.