Michelle Symes is Research and Development Officer at Rural Health and Care Wales. She speaks to us about the research she has been involved in which is working towards a Dementia Friendly Ceridigion.

Episode summary:

01.00 Michelle tells us how she became interested in rural health and her current role

02.35 What is the context within which people in Ceredigion live?

04.45 Why was dementia an important priority to address?

06.02 What were some of the challenges facing people living with dementia?

08.30 What did their study uncover?

12.12 What insights did the study show about collaborative working in communities?

14.30 What are some of the key opportunities to improve lived experience for people with dementia?

24.50 What changes would she like to see in the next 5-10 years?

Key Messages:

Ceredigion is the fourth largest county in Wales and one of the most sparsely populated, 21% of the population are aged over 65.

Significant youth and young adult migration. There is an imbalance in job opportunities and career development opportunities.

As the population ages, dementia becomes an important priority to address.

Challenges: poor transportation networks, underinvestment in rural areas, reduced access to services and support, poor broadband access, no single point of contact for relevant information for people with dementia or their carers.

The study identified a number of positive outcomes such as a wide range of support and care services at a county level and within local communities.

Cader network working on broadband access improvement.

Age Friendly Forum in Ceridigion: https://www.ceredigion.llyw.cymru/resident/wellbeing-and-care/support-for-adults/age-friendly-ceredigion/

Importance of a hub or one-stop shop of information before and afer diagnosis.

Prioritizing involvement of people with dementia in decision making and development of services.

Consideration of wayfaring when redesigning or redeveloping a local area. Landmarks are an important way that people with dementia know where they are.

There is a need to assess best practice within Wales to see if it can be established nationally.

CaBan group at Bangor university is an example of how communities can actively participate in informing research and policy decisions.

Swansea Dementia Hub - an example of how useful a hub approach can be.

Knowledge is Power scheme: https://www.dementiaactifgwynedd.cymru/downloads/newly-diagnosed-knowledge-is-power.pdf

Wrexham Purple Angle Scheme part of a global initiative: https://purpleangelsglobal.com/useful-links/

Enablement of a one-stop shop for information to make life easier, earlier for those people with a diagnosis and their carers. Easy access and availability of information has to be a priority.

Thank you for listening to the Rural Road to Health!

Rural Health Compass