 Welcome to our quarterly stakeholder newsletter, where we share key updates from our service and beyond. In this issue, you'll find:
If you'd prefer not to receive news from us, simply let us know or use the unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. Regional Developments Devon and Torbay It was great to meet colleagues at the first Eastern Devon Dementia Partnership meeting in Exeter last month. We were pleased to have contributed to and heard the findings from the recent dementia service mapping work undertaken by Age UK Exeter. We are looking forward to the new Devon Dementia Strategy hopefully being published soon, and we will continue to work with partners across the region to support the implementation and delivery of this strategy. Groups across Devon & Torbay continue to be busy. We have welcomed a new Area Co-ordinator to our team in West Devon – Deborah Murphy. If you would like Deborah, or any of our Area Co-ordinators, to visit your team to talk to them about The Filo Project and how to access our service, please don’t hesitate to contact our Head office on [email protected] or 0333 939 8225. We're proud to be attending this year's Cornwall Annual Dementia Conference as a sponsor, and we'd love to see you there. The event is open to all, including people living with dementia, families, carers, and professionals. Date: Friday, 16th May 2025 Location: Pavilion Centre, Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge, PL27 7JE Time: Arrive from 8:45am for a 9:00am start 🔗Find out more and register here. We now have an increased number of groups operating across Cornwall, so please contact the Head Office if you would like any more information or visit our website. Somerset We have been invited to work with partners across Somerset on the Connecting Health Communities Steering Group. This partnership piece of work is focused on improving patient and carer experiences and health outcomes, focusing on hospital discharge for people with lived experience of dementia. We are currently planning a partnership workshop for June, where we can collectively work with people with lived experience of dementia, Carers, professionals, and a wide variety of Community support services, to hear about people’s experiences of hospital discharge and ideas about how we can make improvements. Please keep up to date with our social channels, where we will share more information about booking for this event when it is available. East Lancashire Our new Area Co-ordinator for East Lancashire, Kate Mason, is now fully settled into her role and has been busy meeting with partners across East Lancashire. We have recently had an increase in availability for groups in East Lancashire with new Hosts coming on board. If you would like Kate to attend one of your team meetings or events in East Lancashire, please contact the Head Office. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole. Thanks to the brilliant support and partnership working with all areas and services across BCP, we are now pleased to say we are actively open and taking referrals for our newest area. We have Hosts available and groups ready to start. Vanessa and Russell have been busy meeting with many people across the area. We’d like to say a special thank you to Kate Garner and the whole Commissioning Team at BCP Council for their support and delivery of their day opportunities strategy. We are positive that the availability of a Filo Group Day to people living with dementia in Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole will significantly improve the outcomes, experience and quality of life for people living with Dementia in the area. VAT Campaign We recently welcomed Sir Ashley Fox, MP for Bridgwater, to our Highbridge group in Somerset for a cup of tea, a chat, and a chance to see the warmth and connection a Filo day brings. Sir Ashley's visit supported our ongoing campaign to highlight the unfairness of charging VAT on such a vital, person-centred service. We will be sharing an update on this campaign in the near future. Starting Conversations with the BBC Last month, we were proud to take part in the BBC’s new initiative – Memories and Dementia: Starting the Conversation. As part of the campaign, we were thrilled to be interviewed on BBC Radio Somerset, Cornwall and Lancashire. The season aims to help people living with dementia reconnect with loved ones through BBC archive content such as classic TV programmes from the past few decades. There is a pop-up iPlayer channel and Memory Radio station you can explore as a conversation prompt with family and see how many theme tunes and comedy punch lines you remember. We supported the initiative as it really echoes what is so important within a Filo day - using conversation, music, quizzes and activities to encourage meaningful connections and shared moments within each group. We know that the outcome of this is increased confidence, reduced isolation, and an overall improvement in the well-being of those who attend Filo groups. Dementia Action Week Dementia Action Week is coming in May, and we’re planning to mark it with a campaign called “Things I wish more people knew about dementia”. Dementia and memory loss can bring challenges, but life doesn’t have to stop; people can still laugh, connect, and enjoy spending quality time together - that’s what we see every day at our groups. Please Support Dementia Action Week - Take Action Now We'd love to hear your personal or professional reflections, whether it’s something you’ve learnt or a message you think more people need to hear, your insight will be part of the conversation. If you’d like to join the conversation, we’d love for you to use our online shareable resources across your digital platforms. Don’t forget to tag us so we can see and share your posts too. We’ll be sharing messages from the campaign on our social media and website during Dementia Action Week (19 - 25 May).  Lin & Tom’s Story
Lin and Tom’s story is one of love, connection, and the difference the right support can make. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Lin noticed the early signs of dementia in Tom. With family experience, Lin recognised the changes and sought support. The Filo Project helped Tom stay connected in a natural way. It also gave Lin reassurance and much-needed respite. Lin has kindly shared their story to help others facing similar challenges. 🫶 Read their full story here. Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed