University’s “dementia friendly” campus

STUDENTS and staff have been working hard to make the Warrington Campus of the University of Chester a Dementia Friendly Campus.
Led by Dean McShane, lecturer in Mental Health and Learning Disability, Dementia Friends information sessions have been held throughout the spring term to encourage staff and students to learn more about helping people with dementia.
A Dementia Friends Champion is a volunteer who encourages others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia in their community. They do this by giving them information about the personal impact of dementia, and what they can do to help.
Two students, Dikirani Anderson and Gemma Thomas, have both become Dementia Friends Champions.
They took part in a full day of training learning more about dementia and how to deliver the sessions to others in the best way.
Dikirani, 31, is studying for a degree in Mental Health Nursing. He said: “I became a Dementia Friends Champion to help people affected by dementia to feel included and supported in their community. Dementia is an illness that sees no colour, so it is everyone’s responsibility fight the stigma associated with people with dementia.”
In his voluntary role, Dikirani is a Champion for the Dementia Friends programme and promotes that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity through delivering Sessions which encourage others to take action in their community.
He said: “Being a Dementia Friends Champion is open to all staff and students. By taking part, it can really help to students to build their self-esteem and sense of purpose. I really enjoy making a difference to people with dementia.”
Gemma Thomas, 34, chose to study Adult Nursing at the Warrington Campus as it was close to home.
She said: “Dementia has always been a subject of interest to me. I have worked in sectors with people who have dementia and I wanted to expand that knowledge. I also watched a film called Still Alice, about a young woman who had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and it really struck a chord with me. The majority of people I had cared for in the past with dementia had usually been of an older generation, I don’t think it had really occurred to me this could happen to any of us and at any age.
“I felt I needed to educate myself further in the subject, I did this by firstly becoming a Dementia Friend and I then went on to do the Champion training to help get the message across.
“It’s a great feeling to know you are making a difference to the way dementia is perceived and changing those attitudes.”