PEOPLE caring for a relative, friend or neighbour with dementia will be supported with free one-day training programme as part of Dumfries and Galloway’s new Carers’ Academy.
The training will explain the effects of dementia and help Carers learn practical skills that will make them better able to look after the person they support.
Wendy Chambers, the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Consultant at NHS Dumfries and Galloway, says: “I can’t over-emphasise how important it is to support people who are caring for someone with dementia.
“People all across the region are providing support and looking after spouses, parents, neighbours, other relatives or friends with a condition like Alzheimer’s, and it isn’t easy. Like any caring job, it takes time, patience and dedication – and it also takes skill.
“The Carers’ Academy is here to help these people. Dementia is a complex medical condition, and the Academy classes help to explain its effects – including sensory and physical changes as well as changes in the way the brain works.
“The Academy teaches practical skills as well, such as oral health care, support with eating and drinking, assisting movement and mobility, and personal care.
“And it provides another very important benefit as well – it gives Carers a place to meet and talk, to exchange ideas and to support each other. Caring for a family member can be an isolating experience, but no one in that position should feel alone.
“Carers’ Academies have already been opened in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, and they have been very successful there, so it’s great news that Dumfries and Galloway will be getting its own this month.”
The Carers’ Academy is a joint project by NHS Dumfries and Galloway, the Alzheimer Scotland Charity, and the University of the West of Scotland/Alzheimer Scotland Centre for Policy and Practice. Classes take place at the UWS campus on Bankend Road in Dumfries. The first class is on Tuesday 19th March, with one class every month.
The Academy will offer a one-day “Essentials of Dementia Care” programme, as well as providing online advice and peer support. There are also plans to develop the Academy and provide a follow-up one-day “Fundamentals of Care” programme in Spring 2025.
For further information and the dates of classes later this year, or to book a space at the Academy, call 01387 246246 extension 32907 or email [email protected]
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