Bluebells
Bluebells is a group of people living with a diagnosis of dementia in the Medway and Maidstone area.
We are a friendly, relaxed and ambitious group of pro-active people with different diagnoses of dementia who meet at Bluebell Village Hall on the first Wednesday afternoon of the month (from 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm).
Our aim is to raise the awareness of dementia, reduce stigma and to help shape the future of our communities. We do this by actively tackling areas where we see a need to do so and sharing our experiences with students who are training to work in health and social care. The group is made up of a range of people, including people with a dementia and staff from KMPT.
Our aims are to:
- Help create dementia inclusive communities
- Promote positive attitudes towards people with dementia
- Raise public awareness
- Support awareness of dementia research
We are doing this by:
- Supporting the NHS by assisting with staff training and interviews, evaluating memory services and supporting plans for future service developments by being actively engaged in the processes behind this
- Linking with other dementia networks locally and nationally
- Supporting KMPT ‘s dementia envoys
- Sharing our experiences of living with dementia for those newly diagnosed.
Some of our work to date has included:
- Consultation and supporting projects within and outside of the NHS
- Engaging in dementia focused research
- Raising awareness of dementia in local communities
- Supporting dementia coordinators
- Supporting interviews for KMPT and other organisations
- Supporting making Maidstone more ‘dementia friendly’
- Supporting post diagnostic courses by attending as co-facilitators or presenters to share our stories and prove that there is life after a diagnosis
- Supporting projects like ‘Time for Dementia’ linking in with students at the learning stage of their career
- Talking to trainee doctors undertaking training
- The sunflower lanyard
- Working with dementia focused charities such as Alzheimer’s Society and DEEP
We are one of six dementia engagement groups that are supported by KMPT in Kent. We are keen to grow our membership, and also encourage our members to sign up to KMPT’s Engagement Pool. This leads to us being more involved in service improvements, research projects and other opportunities. Some of this work can be paid work, or on a voluntary basis. To find out more, please see the link below.
https://www.kmpt.nhs.uk/get-involved/participation-and-involvement/
For other Dementia Engagement Groups please see the DEEP (Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project) website
