Devon town launches campaign to become 'dementia-friendly'

The town of Tavistock in Devon will announce its campaign to become a 'dementia-friendly' town next week, with Angela Rippon speaking at the event.

The event at the Tavistock Town Hall will see the launch of the Tavistock Dementia Alliance, which is being created with the aim of making the town friendly to those diagnosed with dementia and their carers, the Tavistock Times Gazette reports.

It is estimated that there are over 12,000 people in Devon who are affected by dementia and communities across the UK are looking to make themselves more dementia-friendly in response to a direct challenge from the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Chairman of the Tavistock Dementia Alliance, Tony Parker said that he hoped to tackle the "social stigma" attached to dementia.

He said: "Although overnight we can’t eliminate the current stigma attached to dementia, we can tackle ignorance and incivility by heightening awareness and understanding of dementia."

Television newsreader Angela Rippon will be the keynote speaker at the event. She became an ambassador for the Alzheimer's society after caring for her mother who was diagnosed with dementia.

Find out more about Alzheimer's disease care at Barchester homes.