Winchester Dementia Action Week event praised by mayor

The Dementia Bus was parked outside the Guildhall on Friday, May 17 as part of Dementia Action Week – which ran from Monday, May 13 to Sunday, May 19.

The alternative reality experience allows members of the public to experience a rough simulation of what it is like to have dementia.

The Dementia Bus (Image: Chris Atkinson)

This is done by participants putting on two layers of gloves, spiked insoles, glasses which limit how much the wearers can see, and headphones which play loud noises and alarms.

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Participants are then asked to carry out various tasks in the back of the bus – which is kept in a state of semi-darkness with flashing lights.

The bus was hired for the Dementia Action Week by Home Instead on behalf of Dementia Friendly Winchester.

Hampshire Chronicle reporters in the Dementia Bus (Image: Chris Atkinson)

Tony Winterton, community manager for Home Instead, said: “I think the Dementia Bus is really important because people don’t know what it’s like to live with dementia. The bus itself only gives you a snapshot of what it’s like as there are so many different forms of dementia, it affects people in so many different ways.

“But for people to come and experience it first hand, just to give them a bit of knowledge about what people go through is so important.”

Dementia Action Week saw a number of different activities take place across the city, from workshops to coffee mornings, to raise awareness about dementia and the support available to people living with the disease and to their carers.

These events ranged from coffee mornings to workshops, with a picnic taking place at Abbey Gardens on May 17 where members of Dementia Friendly Winchester could give out information and advice.

Tony continued: “It’s been absolutely amazing this week. We’ve put on a number of activities. The feedback we get from people, and why it is so important to raise awareness, is ‘thanks’. Because people find it so difficult to find the information they need or where they need to go to get help.

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“So, it’s not only designed to raise awareness, it’s also to help people who care for people living with dementia.”

Mayor of Winchester Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith praised Dementia Action Week saying he “thinks it is fantastic.”

Kim Garner, of the Memory Choir, performing in Abbey Gardens (Image: Chris Atkinson)

The mayor, who has selected St John’s Dementia Support as one of his chosen charities for the year, said: “I think draws attention to people and I think it helps teach people living with dementia how to cope a bit better.

“And there is a lot that can be done with the infrastructure that makes it easier for people with dementia. It is help for those living with dementia and their carers.”

Kim Garner, founder of the Memory Choir, was also in attendance at the picnic, offering information about the dementia choirs she runs across Hampshire. She said: “It's about making memories, engaging the community, breaking walls down of isolation”.