Dementia Friendly Communities

In a report recently published by National Records of Scotland, it was revealed that Inverclyde had the highest mortality rate for dementia between 2017 and 2021.

Some of the key points of the partnership commitment are that:

• We value people living with dementia and aim to support social inclusion - treating people and individuals who may be living with dementia with understanding, dignity and respect.
• We will strive to create broader awareness of dementia amongst staff/volunteers/ group members by distributing ‘Hints and Tips’ cards and displaying information and promotional materials, leaflets and posters where possible.

Many of our staff have already undertaken training as part of our aim to achieve our commitments. Raising awareness amongst staff on how we can support people living with dementia by treating them with understanding, dignity and respect fulfils one of the steps on our action plan to become a more dementia friendly organisation. We have taken a significant step in building Inverclyde’s first dementia-friendly housing at St Stephen’s in Port Glasgow, which has proved popular. This new build development is designed specifically for people with early onset Dementia.

As an organisation, we are looking to make small changes to our office environment and have scheduled an audit of the reception area at Clyde View with a view to making it more accessible and inclusive for people living with dementia.

Elaine Cannon, Head of Housing Services at River Clyde Homes, said: "We're delighted to be part of this project. River Clyde Homes puts great importance on being part of a community that works toward improving lives and places, and this initiative is a fantastic opportunity for us to help support people impacted by dementia to live well and feel connected."

Our partners: Your Voice, Inverclyde HSCP and Alzheimers Inverclyde