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Posted on 21 Jan 2015

As part of the ‘Check it Out - Healthy Body, Healthy Mind' campaign, Nottinghamshire Healthcare invited the GMB Nottingham Panthers to a Dementia Friends information session and afternoon tea at Highbury Hospital.

The session was delivered by Jane Kirk, Social and Activities Coordinator and Dementia Friend Champion to raise awareness about different types of dementia and how it can affect individuals. The initiative is run by the Alzheimer's Society and aims to teach others about what it is like to live with dementia. Jane has been supported by the Trust to deliver the information session to staff and the local community and will soon reach her target of 150 Dementia Friends. The players then had the opportunity to speak to carers and patients in Mental Health Services for Older People.

Johnathan Boxill, Panthers player said:

“My great aunt was affected by dementia so it's something that I am familiar with. The training was really useful as I didn't realise that dementia can affect people at such a young age and how many of us could easily develop it. I think information sessions like this are essential to raising awareness and getting everyone talking about it.”

Gary Moran, General Manager for the team added:

“The team have a long standing status of getting involved with the local community and it's great that we can get involved with healthcare campaigns with Nottinghamshire Healthcare. We've all learnt something today and the team are always happy to help raise awareness for healthcare issues such as dementia.”

More information about the Dementia Friends initiative can be found here: https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk.