Maidenhead & Windsor

Increasing an understanding of Alzheimer’s disease is top of the agenda for the Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough during Alzheimer’s Awareness Week (Sunday July 1 – Saturday July 7).

Partnership working by Windsor and Maidenhead council and local Alzheimer’s groups means that residents can visit drop-in sessions and a display to find information and advice on all aspects of the disease.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, a term used to describe various different brain disorders in which there is a loss of brain function that is usually progressive and eventually severe.

The events planned for the week are as follows:

· Monday July 1 – Friday July 6 – Information stand in the foyer of Windsor Leisure Centre; borough social care staff will be available to offer help and advice on Wednesday July 4.

· Monday July 2, 10am – 12 noon – Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service talk on fire risk assessment in the home, at the Drop-in Centre, The Alzheimer’s Society, United Reformed Church, West Street, Maidenhead.

· Thursday July 5, 10am – 12 noon – Quiz session at the Drop-in Centre, address as above.

· Friday July 6, 10am – 12 noon – Drop-in at the Windsor Resource Centre, Youth & Community Centre, Alma Road, Windsor, for information, a chat and a coffee.

Cllr John Story, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead adult services, said: “The impact of Alzheimer’s can be devastating on individuals and those around them. It’s more than being forgetful; it robs people of their lives. Hopefully by building awareness through events like these for this special week, we can help improve support to those suffering from the disease, and their carers.”

The Royal Borough funds the Maidenhead & District Branch of the Alzheimer’s Society Befriending Service which offers support and free local services to carers and their loved ones. The borough also supports, through grants, the Triple A (Ascot Area Alzheimer’s) a voluntary organisation which offers respite care for both the carers of and the cared for, of all ages, with dementia.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead