Working to become dementia friendlyAs a committed partner to the Salford Social Value Charter, we are focused on improving the health and well being of residents to enable them to lead healthier and more active lives with less need for reliance on support services.

We work with many people living with dementia, for example:

  • Memories Matter – the largest reminiscence resource loan service in the region, we offer real museum collection objects and photographs for loan to organisations working with older people.
  • ArtBox – a set of activity resources designed specifically for people living with dementia to support participants to be creative and use their imagination, through visual art, storytelling, drama and movement.
  • Healthy Hips & Hearts – programme of predominately chair based exercise sessions targeting older people with the aim of reducing ill health, reducing falls, increasing social interaction, improving balance and improving overall wellbeing. There is a specific monthly session, targeting people living with Dementia.
  • Dementia friendly swimming – in partnership with the Dementia Champions Group, we run dedicated weekly swimming sessions at various leisure centres for people living with Dementia and their carers.
  • The Salford Way app – all the fantastic Salford Community Leisure activities are on the UK’s first, FREE dementia friendly services app. Download it today from the App Store.
  • Caring for carers – reduced price memberships are available for carers looking for respite plus discounts available for cared for people each time they visit that also entitles carers to accompany them for free.
  • Books on prescription – this autumn, we will be launching the Reading Well Books on Prescription project in our libraries – collections of 25 books for people with dementia and their carers. Further activities and outreach, information provision and signposting will complement the collections.
  • Sporting Memories – we have secured funding for a partnership with the national Sporting Memories Network; which will provide training and resources to enable sporting reminiscence activity to be delivered for people living with dementia or other mental health issues, or people experiencing loneliness and social isolation, with pathways into further creative, leisure or social activity.
  • Dementia Naturally Active – a new project for people living with dementia, their families and carers. Join Red Rose Forest at Cleavley’s Athletics Track Clubhouse for indoor and outdoor nature-based activities or simply come along for a cup of tea and a chat.
  • Salford Exercises for All (SEAL) Study – Designing Community Exercise Groups for people with memory difficulty and their carers. Supported by Salford CCG’s Innovation Fund, SEAL has been designed by a group of physiotherapists, sport scientists, psychologists and clinical researchers and is a community based, group exercise program that is tailor-made for people affected by dementia and their family/carers. This study aims to work alongside people with dementia and their carers to test the effectiveness of this program.

Dementia Friendly training

We are committed to being Dementia Friendly. A programme of internal training is well underway to ensure our employees are aware of issues that may affect people living with dementia and how best to accommodate their needs in our venues and services. We are also auditing our venues to see how we can make them as accessible and user-friendly for people living with dementia as possible.

For more information, contact Naomi Lewis at naomi.lewis@scll.co.uk.