December 2015 News - Terry speaks in Parliament

I was delighted to co-chair the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia inquiry into Dementia and co-morbidities first oral hearing last week alongside Baroness Sally Greengross. It was especially great to hear from Terry Eccott, who is living with dementia and also has a heart condition, about the challenges he faces. He told the inquiry that one of the issues that he had found on his travels as an ambassador was there was little contact between Consultants and GPs and of the implications this can have on people living dementia.

Alzheimer’s Society research shows that 7 in 10 people living with dementia are also living with another health condition. The management of long-term conditions is one of the key challenges facing the health and social care system. The inquiry is investigating the problems faced by people living with dementia and multiple morbidities as well as the threats and opportunities that face the health and social care services.

I have personal experience of dementia, having provided respite care for my mother who had Alzheimer’s disease. Sadly, she died in 2012 but since then I have been able to help other families and carers, experiencing a similar situation. I have spoken about my mum’s experiences in Parliament and ran the Great Manchester Run last year for the Alzheimer’s Society. I was the first MP to train as a Dementia Friends Champion, enabling me to run Dementia Friends sessions in Oldham and also with House staff and colleagues in Parliament to launch dementia-friendly Parliament last year.

As the local MP spearheading the dementia-friendly Oldham campaign I was able to use my extensive local networks to bring people together, including the Oldham Chronicle newspaper, the local Council and Dementia Partnership, and in just a few months over 2,000 local people had signed up as Dementia Friends. We are now well on the way to becoming a truly dementia-friendly community.

I firmly believe that Parliament has a responsibility to lead by example and make sure we are a dementia-friendly environment and through my work as co-Chair of the APPG on Dementia I look forward to working on this and the important APPG Inquiry in the New Year.