I’m delighted to have been able to support the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) in their launch of the Carers’ Call to Action (CC2A) today.

This launch event marks a significant milestone for the Carers’ Call to Action, a project I’ve been working on with DAA colleagues and carers, past and present, for many months. As a former carers to my father, who had vascular dementia for 19 years, it is particularly close to my heart, and as a National DAA member, I believe it’s an extremely important campaign that highlights the needs of carers with loved ones who have dementia.

The message we have conveyed at the launch event today is the importance of our shared vision for supporting carers of people with dementia by ensuring they:

• have recognition of their unique experience – ‘given the character of the illness, people with dementia deserve and need special
  consideration… that meet their and their caregivers needs’ (World
  Alzheimer Report 2013 Journey of Caring)
• are recognised as essential partners in care – valuing their knowledge and the support they provide to enable the person with dementia to live well
• have access to expertise in dementia care for personalised information, advice, support and co-ordination of care for the person with dementia
• have assessments and support to identify the on-going and changing needs to maintain their own health and well-being
• have confidence that they are able to access good quality care, support and respite services that are flexible, culturally appropriate, timely and provided by skilled staff for both the carer and the person for whom they care

More information about the Call to Action can been found here: https://nationaldementiaaction.org.uk/campaigns/carers-call-to-action/

A full list of supporters of the CC2A can be found here: https://www.dementiaaction.org.uk/carers/supporters