London becomes a dementia friendly city

London has officially launched itself as the world's first dementia-friendly capital city.

On Monday (September 16th), fire fighters, police officers, warders and stars from the stage and screen came together to kick-start the Pan-London Dementia Action Alliance at City Hall.

Formed by a number of diverse organisations, the Alliance is committed to improving the lives of the estimated 70,000 people currently living with some form of dementia in the nation's capital.

Included in the bodies involved are the Metropolitan Police, the London Fire Brigade, the London Ambulance Service, UCLPartners, Age UK London, NHS England (London Region), Skills for Care, London Councils, Dementia Advocacy Network, the Royal Academy of Arts, Transport for London, Historic Royal Palaces and the Alzheimer's Society.

The launch follows on from a recent study conducted by the Alzheimer's Society which found that less than half of people living with dementia feel they are part of their community and 73 per cent felt that society does not deal well with people suffering with the cognitive condition.

"As Londoners, we know that our city is one of the finest in the world, and it's vital that people living with dementia should still be to enjoy all the capital has to offer," Kate Moore, Alzheimer's Society regional operations director, said.

"Many people with dementia have reported feeling trapped in their own homes and let down by their communities, with one in three only getting out once a week and one in ten only manage this once a month. This is simply unacceptable."

She added that the Pan London Dementia Action Alliance will aim to address those issues and that she is delighted to see so many high profile organisations backing the Alliance's cause.

It is currently estimated that around 800,000 people in the UK are living with dementia and that number is likely to rise above the one million mark by 2021 unless a significant breakthrough in research can be made.

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