Norfolk launches information scheme for dementia diagnoses

All individuals diagnosed with dementia in Norfolk will be given an information pack to help them and their families cope with the condition in a huge new project

Issued by the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), the pack will include a carer's handbook, information from Age UK and the Alzheimer's Society, and a special safeguard key where sufferers can write their name and contact details in case they get lost. It is hoped that the scheme will answer commonly asked questions and dementia and quash stigma around the issue. Advice includes different types of dementia, contact details for charities and potential medication available for sufferers.

These packs follow the Dementia Health Needs Assessment, carried out in July 2014, which highlighted a lack of valuable information and support given to patients in the region. The Living Well with Dementia programme has since been working hard to fill in this gap, with diagnosis rates in North Norfolk now having risen to 58.5 per cent in the last year.

Susan Brand, dementia support manager for the Alzheimer’s in Norfolk, said: “At difficult times, we all want to know there is someone there to help us. Receiving a diagnosis of dementia is certainly one of those times but unfortunately the reality for a lot of people has been that they’ve not known where to turn.”

Ms Brand added that these packs have been launched in conjunction with Dementia Awareness Week. The packs will be available at dementia support groups, GP practices and information hubs.

For more information about the programme of events that will be taking place for Dementia Awareness Week in Norfolk, be sure to check out the official local council website.

Read more about Barchester's dementia care homes.