LLANELLI Market has become the first dementia -friendly market in Wales, after 20 market stall holders joined an early morning training session last week pledging support to a project which will help create a dementia -friendly Llanelli.
Raising awareness of dementia in Carmarthenshire is extremely challenging. People living for longer and the number of dementia sufferers is expected to double in the next generation from the current known figures approaching 6,000, to more than 12,000 over the next 20 years.
There are more than 1,000 people with the condition in Llanelli town alone, with the highest prevalence in Bigyn, Llanedi and Glanymor wards where there are close on 500.
As well as encouraging families to disclose and seek help for dementia sufferers in their families, the council is working closely with the Alzheimer’s Society ‘ Dementia Friends ‘, training to work with traders and businesses in Llanelli to make life for those with the condition and their carers easier.
Councillor Jane Tremlett, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Executive Board Member for Social Care and Health, said: “Carmarthenshire Dementia Action Board has been raising awareness of the condition, of which more than 200 are known. ”
Signposting how to react if it strikes or is encountered is a key element of their role.”
The creation of a Dementia Friendly Llanelli comes at a time when businesses – including food retailers – are waking up to the financial implications of not meeting disabled customers’ needs.
Business Dementia Forums recent UK-wide research has found that 75% of disabled customers and their families will not use a business because of poor service or understanding.
As a result businesses both big and small are moving in the right direction, listening to the needs of their customers and incorporating best practice into their services.
Dementia Friendly Communities Co-ordinator , Marcia Vale , said she had been greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm of Llanelli’s Market traders.
Some of the traders said they had experience of dementia in their own families and had a great awareness of the vulnerability of those with the condition.
Mike Richards who runs the stall ‘ Times Past and Present’, selling and buying antiques, said he had one elderly gentleman in his unit recently who presented him with a fist full of far too many notes while at the same time asking to buy a clock on display.
“I recognised straight away the gentleman was exhibiting dementia signs. They generally want to pay in notes because they don’t recognise coins and they don’t like to hold people up and prolong a transaction because they are drawing attention to themselves and finding the situation quite stressful,” he said.
“At the training I was astonished to hear that those with some forms of dementia even when accompanied by their carers will not go into a shop with black matting at the entrance because their see a black hole and fear falling in.
“I didn’t know that signage in yellow gets the best interactive results with dementia sufferers but I this is something I will now engage with,” he added.
Another market tenant, Neville Gilasbey, who runs the 50+Late Life Planning Service said: “The training was a real eye opener. There are a number of things we can all put in place to make life easier and less stressful for those with dementia.”
Mr Gilasbey said he was even prepared to allow £25 off any transaction for customers presenting with dementia.
He said: “No matter what the business we all have a role to play. Some of the improvements people can make are quite simple.”
During the training, Marcia explained that some dementia sufferers cannot see white on white and if they are in a restaurant and are presented with a piece of cod, doused in white sauce on a white plate on a white table cloth with (whitish) mashed potatoes and peas they will only eat the peas because it is all they can see. The white salt cellar would be missed too.
Marcia said: “If there were colourful plates this problem would be overcome because of the contrast of crockery colour and foodstuffs.” Marcia said people tended to relate to dementia as degrees of absent mindedness or forgetfulness when that was only part of the problem. She was keen to point out at the training the misplacing your car keys or wallet was not a sign of the onset of dementia.
“There are 204 forms of the condition known and because of the complexities of the brain more is being discovered about the condition all the time,” she explained.
“For too long, dementia has been a taboo or embarrassing and unspoken about ‘mental’ illness that is often concealed within families. This is largely because it is one of the most feared brain diseases, robbing people of their memory bit by bit from which there is no recovery.
“Yet there is much that can be done to slow the process and improve the lot of those with the condition. It is understanding the nuances of the condition that was important .”
Cllr Tremlett said combining awareness with action was essential.
“We really want to create Dementia Friendly Communities across of Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford.
“The county’s dementia action board launched a brave, successful and ongoing cartoon campaign to create a wider platform to let more people know what help is available.
“We will soon have bilingual posters up in all GP surgeries across the county raising awareness.”
Llanelli Community Resource Team Resilience Worker , Ed Dewar , said work with the Llanelli GP Cluster had identified that dementia within Llanelli was increasing , as were the issues arising.
A recent review of the day care services had shown more than 80% of clients attending day care within Llanelli had dementia, some diagnosed and many not.
As a result, a task and finish group was established with the aim of further discussion, and creation of a Dementia-Friendly Llanelli rolled out across the town in stages to benefit carers, citizens and businesses of the town who have or support individuals with dementia.
Mr Dewar said creating Dementia Supportive Communities required a change in attitudes and behaviour towards dementia at all levels of society that would reflect the challenge and demographic change and impact of dementia.
The Welsh Government had made a commitment to developing dementia prevention services across Wales , and Dementia- Friendly Llanelli was contributing to this by implementing the Public Health Wales PANDA programme in educating individuals on lifestyle choices to lessen the risk of developing dementia.
They had produced window stickers and badges of recognition for businesses and their staff. Their long term vision was to create sustainable dementia supportive communities supported by the Alzheimer’s Society and Community First schools project.
Driving the campaign with the county for the Alzheimer’s Society , Mrs Vale said she hoped Llanelli would be soon be welcoming dementia -friendly signage by businesses big and small.
She concluded: “I am so proud of the Llanelli market traders who have shown so much enthusiasm and willingness to help overcome a problem that is not going to go away and is growing all the time.”
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