In the lead up to National Dementia Carers Day (14 September 2014) follow 12 hours in the life of fictional couple Reg & Val, to find out what it’s like to care at home for a person living with dementia.
In England alone, it is estimated that there are over half a million people caring for a loved one with dementia. National Dementia Carers Day (NDCD) has been created by leading dementia organisations (Dementia UK, Alzheimer’s Society & SweetTree Home Care Services) to recognise, share and celebrate the amazing job carried out by these informal carers everywhere, every day.
From 8am on Monday 1st September – until NDCD itself on Sunday 14th – our fictional couple Reg & Val will be taking to Twitter to share the ups and downs of daily life with dementia. A different activity will take place at a different hour across each day, from eating breakfast and attending the GP to a shopping trip and a home visit from an Admiral Nurse.
Reg & Val’s story aims to reach people who don’t know very much about dementia, and is likely to strike a chord with anyone who has a friend or relative who cares for someone with dementia and believes they deserve greater recognition for what they do.
Echoing the aims of the Carers’ Call To Action, launched in November 2013, the campaign hopes to highlight the ‘hidden work’ carried out by informal carers across the UK, in support of the move to create ‘dementia-friendly’ communities by encouraging greater awareness and understanding of the condition, and in particular the vital role played by informal carers.
Find out more about Reg & Val on the NDCD website. Follow their story @Dementia_Carers for the next fortnight and show your support for dementia carers.
