Putting dementia on the agenda at the 2024 party conferences
Our Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Faradane O’Callaghan, reflects on this year’s political party conferences and the progress we have made in the first 100 days of this Government.
Helpline Admiral Nurse Awarded for 20 Years of Service
Admiral Nurse Dave Bell has been honoured for 20 years of service at Dementia UK’s annual Admiral Nurse Forum.
The Admiral Nurse Forum is a celebration which shines a light on best practice within the growing Admiral Nurse community. Dave Bell’s passion in providing exemplary standards of care and support to people with dementia, as well as supporting other Admiral Nurses to continue their specialist and pivotal work, were recognised.
Dave has been registered as a Registered Mental Health Nurse for over 40 years now. He has worked across care settings for people with dementia including in several community teams, where people with dementia are supported for as long as possible in the home, and care homes. Even before he joined Dementia UK as an Admiral Nurse, he was considered as a forerunner in dementia care after developing and leading one of the very first home treatment teams for older adults in the UK.
Nowadays Dave can be found imparting invaluable advice to families as well as healthcare professionals on our ever-growing Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline. His drive and expertise were recognised through him winning the ‘Lifetime Achievement in Dementia Care’ at the 6th National Dementia Care Awards in 2015.
A huge honour
Reflecting on his time at Dementia UK, Dave Bell said:
This is a huge honour and I cannot thank Dementia UK enough for all their support in helping me the best specialist dementia nurse I can be. Helping families through the toughest cases of dementia can get challenging but to hear families speak about the impact you’ve had on them, and to get this kind of recognition, is so heartening and only strengthens my passion for caring.
Commenting on Dave’s 20 years of service, Dr. Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse and CEO at Dementia UK, said:
The fantastic Dave Bell has been at the heart of key developments within Dementia UK and is also a shining example of the key attributes of an Admiral Nurse; specialist, dedicated and above all compassionate. We are so honoured to have him as part of the Admiral Nurse team and we know that his time at Dementia UK will continue to set an example to us all.
Dementia named UK’s leading cause of death for second year in a row
With more people in the UK dying of dementia than any other condition, our Head of Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs, Andrew Pike, reflects on why we must all work together to ensure that every family affected receives the support it needs.
Tackling stigma within the Chinese community
Two years ago, Dementia UK partnered with the Chinese Welfare Trust to launch a new dementia specialist Admiral Nurse clinic to support Chinese and South-East Asian families. Admiral Nurse Emily Ka-Hei Lui reflects on the pilot service and its early achievements.