ON November 22 the Herefordshire Dementia Friendly Communities Conference took place at Grange Court in Leominster.

Around 80 people from various organisations, services and locations enjoyed a packed day full of interesting presentations and workshops.

The event was put on by Leominster Meeting Centre for people affected by dementia and Dementia Friendly Leominster and was funded by the Co-op Members Community Fund.

The event was opened by Jenny Bartlett, the Worshipful Mayor of Leominster and chaired by Phillipa Bruce-Kerr of Harrison Clark Rickerbys and chairman of Leominster Meeting Centre.

Professor Dawn Brooker of the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester provided the key note with a consideration of post-diagnostic support and an overview of the MeetingDem project and meeting centres for people affected by dementia.

Jacinta Meighan-Davies, Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group clinical programme manager, and Simon Lennane, Clinical Commissioning Group GP and mental health lead, informed the audience about plans for the Herefordshire and Worcestershire dementia strategy for supporting people with dementia and their carers to be diagnosed and live well with dementia.

The presenters also considered community issues more widely, including isolation and loneliness, especially for older people.

There was an overview of the current state of play with dementia friendly communities in Hereford, Leominster and Ross as part of work to make Herefordshire a dementia friendly county.

If you would like to find out more about Leominster Meeting Centre or Dementia Friendly Leominster please contact leominstermeetingcentre@gmail.com or see leominstermeetingcentre.co.uk