Penarth dementia event takes place as UK cases near million
Hosted by Dementia Friendly Penarth, the event at The Paget Rooms brought together dozens of support groups, NHS teams, and community advocates.
The event came with one shared mission, to turn Penarth into a more inclusive, informed space for people living with dementia.Mayor Emma Richards with Phil Batchelor and local community lead Miles Utting. (Image: Phil Batchelor) The event was officially opened by Penarth's newly elected mayor, Emma Richards, who stood alongside Dementia Friendly Penarth chair Phil Batchelor and local community lead Miles Utting.
More than 20 organisations participated, offering resources, support, and hands-on advice to residents and caregivers. Groups included the Cardiff & Vale NHS Memory Team, Alzheimer's Society, Marie Curie, Telecare, South Wales Police and Penarth Library among many others.
The Alzheimer's Society at The Paget Rooms on Thursday, May 22nd. (Image: Phil Batchelor)
Mr Batchelor said: "What truly moved me during these discussions was hearing first hand how community members felt empowered by sharing their experiences.
"It reminded me that our strength lies in coming together and caring for one another."
According to the latest estimates from Alzheimer's Research UK, nearly 1 million people in the UK are currently living with dementia, a figure expected to soar to 1.4 million by 2040.
New data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that more than 47,000 people across Wales are currently living with a diagnosed case of dementia. Urban and coastal regions are seeing substantially higher rates.
One such hotspot is the Vale of Glamorgan, where an estimated 2,300 to 3,400 people are living with dementia.
NHS information desk at The Paget Rooms on Thursday, May 22nd. (Image: Phil Batchelor)
Research from the 2023 Dementia Attitudes Monitor reveals only 36 per cent of the UK public believe it's possible to reduce the risk of developing dementia, despite evidence suggesting that up to 40 per cent of cases are linked to modifiable lifestyle factors like exercise, diet, and smoking.
The campaign's theme, Turning Penarth Blue, was a call to action, designed to paint the town with compassion, resources, and real understanding of the challenges people with dementia face every day.
While more than half of adults in the UK know someone with dementia, many still fail to recognise it as a terminal condition. Only 60 per cent of the public accept that dementia is a cause of death, according to national surveys.
Mr Batchelor said: "We're changing that narrative. With support, research, and awareness, we can all be part of creating a better future, for Penarth, for Wales, and for the thousands of families affected by dementia every year."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Scotland's outpatient appointment waiting lists are growing
Skin cancer checks. Health Secretary Neil Gray may think he is making 'good progress' tackling waiting times in A&E departments, but he deserves a big fat fail for his performance on reducing waits for outpatient appointments. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Latest figures show that thousands of Scots have waited more than two years for either treatment or a diagnosis, and there are an incredible 63,400 patients who have been waiting for more than 12 months. There is no point in Scottish Government spin doctors telling long-suffering folk that the current NHS budget is the biggest to date (thanks to the UK government's largesse) while one in six Scots are languishing on a never-ending waiting list. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad My husband is one of those stuck in limbo. He has what is called in the trade a basal cell carcinoma on his face, or skin cancer as we non-medical types call it. It started several years ago as a tiny blemish below his right eye. At the time, his GP reassured him that it was of little concern, but it kept growing and shows no sign of stopping. Last autumn, his GP decided it was time a dermatologist dealt with it and referred him for treatment. Since then nothing. The tumour is getting bigger, so his GP sent a second letter recently asking for an urgent referral, but NHS Lothian's dermatology department still cannot give my now increasingly-concerned husband a realistic timetable for its removal. He has been on the non-urgent waiting list since last September and could easily still be on it when this September rolls round. Now skin cancer of this type almost never spreads beyond the skin, but very rarely it can enter a patient's lymph nodes or bones. So while the tumour is not going to kill my husband, it is disfiguring his face and he is increasingly embarrassed by the lump. And of course, the longer he has to wait for treatment, the larger the tumour and the resulting scar will be. Understanding Scotland – a quarterly survey which measures the issues most important to Scots – released its latest report last week. Nearly half (49 per cent) put healthcare as the most important issue facing the country. If only the Scottish Government gave it the same priority.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Three sisters lose 18 stone between them on the same diet
Three sisters lose 18 stone between them on the same diet They were facing surgery, diabetes and blindness before working together to cut their weight Emma, Katie and Tammy went on a weight-loss journey together Three sisters who have lost more than 18 stone (114.3kg) between them by following an 800-calorie-a-day diet have said it transformed their lives more than they could have imagined. Emma Castle, 48, reached her heaviest weight of 22 stone 6lb (143.1 kg), wearing a size 24, in summer 2023 and realised she needed to make a change after discovering she had high blood pressure and was pre-diabetic. In January 2024, she began the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, a step-by-step weight-loss programme that provides one-to-one consultant support and starts with 800 calories a day through meal replacement products and a small evening meal. The NHS recommends 2,000 calories daily for women, with a 600-calorie reduction suggested for weight loss. Emma is now 14 stone 6lb (92.1 kg) and a size 16, making everyday actions easier, such as walking, doing housework, and even sitting on a bus without taking up two seats. She has also become a consultant for the 1:1 Diet. Tammy Fisher, 46, started the same diet at 16 stone 5lb (104.1 kg), wearing a size 20, desperate for change after years of feeling 'hopeless' and even considering gastric surgery, but has since slimmed down to 10 stone 12lb (68 kg) and a size 12. She is now also a consultant. Katie Nutt, 46, who does not work because of health reasons, began the diet in February 2024 and has gone from 17 stone 4lb (110.3 kg) and a size 22 to 12 stone 1lb (76.7 kg) and a size 14 – she has hypertension on the brain and since losing weight her condition has stabilised. Tammy, who, like her sisters, lives in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, told PA Real Life: 'It makes you feel in control of what you're eating. I feel like it just works for us even though some people might think it's not enough calories to start with. I thought surgery was my only option but how wrong I was – I don't need any injection or surgery – I did it myself and it's just unreal.' Emma reached her heaviest weight of 22 stone 6lb in the summer of 2023, after years of overeating and having large bars of chocolate most evenings. But after a visit to her GP revealed she had high blood pressure and was pre-diabetic she slowly began to realise she may need to make some changes. In January 2024 she began following the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan which is a tailored weight-loss plan that provides one-to-one consultant support for every dieter and became a consultant for the diet too. She said: 'I realised that actually I'm not going to be able to get through life unscathed if I continue as I am.' The diet consists of several steps. Step one involves replacing your everyday food for nutritionally complete meal replacement products. Emma started at step two which includes three 1:1 products daily – such as snack bars or porridge – along with a 200-calorie evening meal made from ingredients such as chicken and vegetables, with no carbohydrates. By May 2024, Emma had lost four stone (25.4 kg), and a check-up confirmed her blood pressure and blood sugar levels were within the normal range. She said: 'It made it all worth it, I felt so much better in myself. It's really quite life changing, losing that amount of weight, and it's just everyday things that you notice are easier, like walking, housework, sitting on a bus and not taking up nearly two seats.' Tammy also began the 1:1 Diet in January 2024, becoming a consultant too, following the same 800-calorie plan. At the time, she weighed 16 stone 5lb (104.1 kg) – the 'biggest' she had 'ever been' – and was 'desperate' to make a change. The sisters supported each other throughout the process. (L to R: Tammy, Emma and Katie) (Collect/PA Real Life) She had been considering gastric surgery, even contacting private hospitals and arranging payment plans, but was inspired by Emma to try the diet instead, avoiding a procedure that could have cost around £10,000. She explained: 'I got to the point where I didn't like what I saw in the mirror at all. I didn't like my clothes … friends would invite me out and I wouldn't go, and I used to cry a lot and think it was all hopeless.' However, after just a few days on the plan, and despite feeling light-headed during the initial 'detox', she suddenly got a 'spring in her step'. Katie began the diet in February 2024, starting at 17 stone 4lb (110.3 kg). Katie, who was on the waiting list for gastric sleeve surgery because of hypertension on the brain, was advised to lose weight to relieve her symptoms such as headaches and neck and back pain. Since following the diet – also consuming 800 calories a day – she has halved her pain medication. There had also been a risk of her going blind, as the condition was causing pressure on her optic nerves, but her eyesight is now stable. Katie said: 'I think my family have noticed a huge difference – I used to look so poorly all the time and my kids used to just think, 'God, mum's in bed again'. Now they see me up sprightly.' Together, the sisters have lost more than 18 stone (114.3 kg), with Emma shedding eight stone (50.8 kg), Tammy five stone 7lb (35.4 kg), and Katie five stone 3lb (33.5 kg). All three sisters, who are 5ft 2in, started in the obese category – Emma had a BMI of 57, Tammy had a BMI of 42, and Katie had a BMI of 44. After losing weight, Emma's BMI is the lowest level of obese at 36, Tammy moved into the overweight category at 28, and Katie reached the borderline between overweight and obese at 30. Emma said: 'I don't actually think my brain is caught up in my body … I keep buying bigger sizes thinking they're the right size.' When the sisters are closer to their goal weights, they will eventually move on to the final steps, with their calories increasing each time. The final step involves eating one 1:1 product a day and eating a healthy diet of around 1,500 calories each day, while keeping active and working towards maintaining weight. The sisters believe their weight-loss journey has brought them closer, supporting each other along the way. 'Every celebration used to revolve around food,' said Emma. 'But now we spend that money on experiences, like holidays together and we've found new ways to reward ourselves. It's a whole new mindset.' Since losing the weight, their lives have changed beyond their 'wildest imaginations' – Tammy and Katie are no longer considering surgery and they all feel healthier, with more energy, and have more confidence than ever. Looking ahead, the sisters believe the diet will be 'part of (their) lives for the rest of (their) lives', and Emma and Tammy are excited to continue their journeys by helping others as consultants. Article continues below For more information about the 1:1 Diet visit: If you are living with obesity, your GP can offer you advice about improving your lifestyle and losing and managing your weight safely. For more information, visit: If you were affected by this content or are struggling with an eating disorder, support is available at
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Northern Ireland waiting lists: Cross-border operations money-back scheme starts
People who have been on an NHS waiting list for more than two years will now be able to pay for procedures in the Republic of Ireland and claim money £10m cross-border plan, designed to tackle waiting lists, came into effect on Monday Department of Health (DoH) said that, in future, patients would be able to claim back money for operations in the rest of the a date has yet to be set for when that extension will happen, and the number of patients able to avail of it will depend on how much money is left from the cross-border scheme. "The second phase of the scheme – extension to the rest of the EU – will go ahead," a DoH spokesperson said."The scale of available funding will clearly be connected to take-up levels for the first phase." Budget The department is already facing a £600m deficit in its budget as it struggles to reduce waiting lists and fund pay increases for healthcare reimbursement scheme was one of several initiatives Health Minister Mike Nesbitt announced to tackle waiting lists for planned operations, which are the highest in the cross-border element of the scheme means patients will get back the amount of money the operation would have cost in Northern Ireland, subject to it was launched last month, the department said full details of the plan were yet to be outlined and the full range of eligible procedures covered by the cross-border scheme was not known. Online information hub Those eligible for the scheme will be able to access a Health and Social Care online information hub giving guidance to patients on how to apply, eligibility criteria and access to the application reimbursement scheme was included in a plan outlining how £215m was to be used to tackle Northern Ireland's spiralling hospital waiting that, there will be £85m for red flag and critical care, £80m for building up capacity within the system, and up to £50m to start tackling the backlog in plan is to clear the four year waits for more than 3,000 patients on lists for hip, knee, hernia and colonoscopy will be mega clinics for an estimated 20,000 patients waiting for ophthalmology, orthopaedics, general surgery and ear, nose and throat (ENT) lists for gynae mesh, children's squints, children's feeding tubes and cleft lip will also be department said there will also be a boost in the number of urology specialist nurses and an expansion of rapid diagnosis centres for quicker detection of pancreatic cancer.
