Local Ambassador speaks at Eastbourne conference

Inspirational and informative speeches were given at the first ever dementia conference in Eastbourne. Organised by Alzheimer’s Society, in collaboration with East Sussex Better Together, the conference was well attended in a very busy

Winter Gardens.

People with dementia and those worried about their memory, carers and healthcare professionals all came together for the event at Winter Gardens in Eastbourne.

The theme of the conference was “life doesn’t end when dementia begins” and Lorraine Brown from Kent and Terry Eccott from Hampshire certainly proved it. They are young people living with different forms of dementia and braved the stage to talk about what it is like to live with the condition.

Elisa Vaughan, Alzheimer’s Society Operations Manager for Sussex, said:

“I hope that everyone who came along enjoyed the day and found it informative,Terry Eccott one of our guest speakers was great he provided a heartfelt and enlightening presentation about what it is like to live with dementia and shows with the right support that you can live well with dementia" It was fantastic to see a real mix of people attending and hearing different perspectives on things like the diagnostic process, support after diagnosis, how dementia affects lifestyles and the work place and new research in dementia cure and care.”

“There are more than 10,000 people living with dementia in East Sussex and it’s imperative that we try and work together to prove that life doesn’t end when dementia begins.”

Other speakers included George McNamara, Alzheimer’s Society’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Amada Philpot Chief Officer Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford and Hastings & Rother CCG’s and Keith Hinkley ESCC Director of Social Care and Health, also Dr. Lindsay Hadley Lead Clinician, Integrated Community Care (ICC) Memory Assessment Service.

In the afternoon, there were workshops for attendees to join in with, from a Dementia Friends session to Healthy Lifestyles and Art Therapy, and finished off with a question time panel which included Professor of Dementia Sube Banerjee MBE,

Lorraine Brown, Terry Eccott, Dr. Doug Brown Director of Research and Development Alzheimers Society.

Dementia Ambassador Terry Eccott Said. The Conference in Eastbourne was a great success with so many people attending from all walks of life, I enjoyed the day very much and my forty minute slot on stage seemed to whizz by,

and the questions to the panel at the end was informative. I feel that a lot of information was learned by everyone

present, and for Dementia Awareness it could not have been better. Photos courtesy of Kevin Stevens.