Public invited to attend HSE dementia awareness morning in Cork 

HSE Cork Kerry Community Healthcare (CKCH) is inviting members of the public to join their Memory Team at an event in Cork this month.

As part of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, the Cork-based team will host an awareness morning at Westfield Integrated Care Centre in Ballincollig on September 18, from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

The event aims to highlight the importance of brain health and how to reduce the risk of dementia. In Ireland, 64,000 people have dementia, with this number expected to hit 150,000 by 2045.

More than 4,000 of those living with dementia in Ireland are aged under 65. It affects people of all ages and not just the elderly.

ASI Dementia Advisers, Family Carers Ireland, Alone, and SAGE will be represented at the awareness morning.

“It is in everyone’s interest to learn more about brain health and the steps people can take to reduce your risk of developing dementia,” said Siobhán Cahill, advanced nurse practitioner memory with CKCH.

“[Steps include] having strong social connections, taking up a new hobby, and making sure your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels are at a healthy range. What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.

“While, currently, we don’t have any cure for dementia, there is growing evidence we can all help reduce, or delay, our risk of developing it.

“A dementia diagnosis can be very challenging for a person, as well as their family and friends. However, with so many people now living very successfully with the condition, it’s important that we become a more dementia-inclusive society and break the stigma that often comes with this condition.

“We hope that lots of Cork people will find the time to come and meet us at Westfield.”

Helen Rochford Brennan, member of the Irish Dementia Working Group, said: “I want to continue doing the things I enjoy and I want to live at home for as long as I’m able to.

“Knowing that people locally have at least some understanding of dementia and that I can feel welcomed and safe in my community, gives me the confidence to go about my day and also to get involved. I’d like to see every village, town and county in Ireland become a dementia-inclusive community.”

To find local dementia services, call the free national helpline on 1800 34 13 41 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm).