CENTACARE Brisbane is hoping a conference on dementia-friendly communities will help sufferers in their day-to-day lives.
About 80 care professionals, dementia sufferers and carers from throughout south-east Queensland attended the one-day conference on October 12.
Centacare Community Services senior director Jenny Clark said the idea for the conference came from Enoggera service manager Anne Donaghy who was looking for ways to change perceptions around dementia and to foster inclusive attitudes in the community.
“I was happy to support her and we hope this results in people being able to still do regular activities in an inclusive dementia-friendly community,” Ms Clark.
“It’s the little things, even the way we say the Mass.
“That familiarity and recognition of the movements and responses means a person with dementia can participate especially if the dementia-friendly church is also aware there are occasional behaviour issues.”
Ms Donaghy said she hoped participants would take from the conference an opportunity to be advocates for inclusive communities.
“If you are sitting in the hairdressers (you could) ask how they deal with dementia sufferers and get the conversation going,” she said.
Ms Donaghy said even cafes with outside seating areas away from where customers paid for their coffees could be a problem for dementia suffers.
She said business owners could consider whether they had a system that was dementia-friendly.
“What could (they) do to make things less confusing?”
Conference speakers included State Minister for Disability Services and Minister for Seniors Coralee O’Rourke; humanitarian, advocate and activist for aged and dementia care Kate Swaffer; Dr Chris Davis, who was director of geriatric medicine at the Prince Charles Hospital for more than 20 years; a fellow and distinguished member of the Australian Association of Gerontology Associate Professor Evonne Miller; and Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work at the University of Queensland Dr Phil Crane, who is a senior lecturer in public health and social work.
Ms Clark did not rule out holding a similar conference next year to continue Centacare’s support for dementia-friendly communities.
– Robin Williams
