The 4RDA Blog

August - A Variety Of Tasks In Hand And Still Ongoing

1/9/2025

I have undertaken a variety of tasks were various things have been happening during August:

• I met with the councillor who is the designated lead for dementia friendly work at Shaugh Prior parish council (04/08/25) to discuss how they would like to make a start on working towards becoming dementia friendly. I am currently awaiting an update on this.

• I returned to South Brent District & Caring to deliver another awareness session to more of their volunteer team, some volunteers from another local charity and the public (04/08/25). This was once again, well attended and well received. I followed this up with one attendee by sending them some information they requested about dementia friendly signage guidance.

• I attended an essential content Dementia Friends update session (19/08/25). Dementia Friends is an initiative by the Alzheimer’s Society and the awareness sessions I deliver in the community are part of this so this was a necessary and very useful session.

• I continued to contact a variety of parish/village magazines and newsletters across the 4RDA area to request writing an article about the work of 4RDA and Dementia Friendly Parishes, to raise awareness and hopefully encourage some more people to get involved in 4RDA. I submitted an article to the Modbury Messenger (Due to be published in the September edition).

• The “working towards becoming dementia friendly” information pack I drafted for schools has now been edited and is ready to go to print. The retailer’s guide will be edited next. I have also continued to work on the draft guide for GP practices.

• I started mapping community resources and attractions that could be approached re: becoming dementia friendly (An action agreed at a previous 4RDA meeting). This will continue until all parishes have been researched.

A few other things in the pipeline going into September and beyond:

• When I have completed drafting the dementia friendly guide for GP practices, I will start working on one for care homes.

• I will be submitting an article about the work of Four Rivers and Dementia Friendly Parishes Around the Yealm to Bigbury & Ringmore News for their October/November edition.

• I will be attending a Four Rivers meeting (03/09/25) and an Erme & Yealm Caring Alliance meeting (17/09/25) to update on the work of both the Four Rivers Dementia Alliance and Dementia Friendly Parishes Around the Yealm.

• I will be meeting with Liz Hitchins, Four Rivers Chair and Ian Sherriff BEM, Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia, University of Plymouth (10/09/25) to plan the content of the workshop on dementia friendly communities that we will be delivering at the Devon Association of Local Councils AGM (01/10/25).

• I am booked to attend a Modbury parish council meeting (07/10/25) to talk about the work of 4RDA and the support available to become a dementia friendly parish council and village.