Information and support at Rotherham's first interactive dementia conference

The Let’s Talk About Dementia Conference was held at Hellaby Hall Hotel and featured a lived experience discussion, question time panel, music, and a light exercise session with Rotherham United Community Trust.

As well as presentations from host partners Crossroads Care Rotherham and the Alzheimer's Society, guests heard from organisations including South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, Rotherham Council, Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, South Yorkshire Police, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust and representatives from the voluntary and community sector.

Information and support for unpaid carers and people with dementia was also available with a marketplace of stallholders as well as taster complementary therapies.

A mobile dementia simulator tour bus was parked in front of Hellaby Hall throughout the conference where guests – which included the Mayor of Rotherham Cllr Sheila Cowen and Age UK Rotherham chief executive officer Barbara Dinsdale – could experience in virtual reality how it feels to have the condition first hand.

Liz Hopkinson, fundraising business development manager at Crossroads, said the conference would be an “opportunity for carers and people with dementia to discuss what’s working well in Rotherham and where the gaps in provision are.”

A lived experience discussion was facilitated by Drew Hallsmith from the Alzheimer's Society and heard from numerous friends and relatives of people with dementia as well as people affected by the condition.

One told the conference: “Rotherham Memory Service 100 per cent changed our lives”, and another said the support services in the borough were “exemplary – I know you want to do more but you are brilliant.”

There was also praise for RMBC's Rothercare as well as community music events by Lost Chord UK charity.

When asked by the facilitator if they could have one wish granted, one carer said: “There needs to be more staff and funding available.

“There are many more people in this position who are struggling to cope.”

One man affected by dementia replied: “My answer is very simple – research, research, research.”

Other speakers included Sian Gregory, research grants manager at the Alzheimer's Society who told guests: “We research every type of dementia – there's over 100 different types and we are trying to fund research into as many different types.”

She gave an update into a drug called Lecanemab which can slow down early-stage Alzheimer's, adding that while it was available privately and not on the NHS currently: “One bright idea with the right research funding can make an absolutely transformative change.”

Others addressing the conference included Gemma Cross, head of safeguarding and vulnerabilities team at Rotherham NHS Foundation trust and Andrew Wells head of safeguarding at Rotherham Council who addressed the topic of 'Keeping People Safe', while a South Yorkshire Police representative outlined the Herbert Protocol – a form for people with dementia at risk of going missing.

Carers, family or friends of a vulnerable person, or the person themselves, can fill in a form in advance, containing information to help the police if the person goes missing, saving time and enabling officers to search more quickly.