Laurel Dene host their first John's Campaign dementia event

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Jun 04, 2018

Laurel Dene have joined forces with a national campaign to support carers and relatives whose loved ones are living with dementia in hospital or care environments, with the help of high profile guests.

The team at Laurel Dene hosted the launch event for John’s Campaign at Care UK, which has been set up to make access to those in care environments easier for family members and friends. This new initiative is also being rolled out at Stanecroft care home.

The campaign aims to make care settings as welcoming, friendly and accessible to families and carers of people with dementia as possible. This holistic approach also recognises the very important role that families provide regarding information about that person, so that care can be truly person-centered. It has been shown that unrestricted access to support loved ones, particularly those living with dementia or with serious illnesses, is greatly beneficial to their well-being. The campaign has been hugely successful in hospital environments, and is now working with care homes in the same way. 

The event kicked off with guest speakers Professor Martin Green, the CEO of the representative body for independent care services in England, Care England, and Julia Jones, co-founder of John’s Campaign. Other guest speakers included Sylvie Silver, the CEO of the National Activity Providers Association, and Suzanne Mumford RN, quality development manager at Care UK.  In his first day in office, the Mayor ofRichmond, Ben Khosa also attendedwith the Mayoress, adding their support to this cause.

John’s Campaign is also supported by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care said: “The Care Quality Commission strongly supports John’s Campaign – welcoming the family and friends of people living with dementia is key to great care.” 

Dacre Lassauniere, home manager at Laurel Dene, said: “Spending time with loved ones is beneficial to wellbeing, and it is important for us that family and friends of residents feel welcome in their loved one’s care home, and able to visit whenever they want. 

“We are immensely proud to support John’s Campaign, and host their first Care UK event at our own home. We hope the event will raise awareness for the support of carers, and help people discover positive approaches to caring for loved ones. We would like to thank everyone involved with John’s Campaign, and all of the guest speakers who contributed to such an important cause.”