Hornsby Council moves to become first dementia-friendly community in Sydney
IT IS the single leading cause of death in women across the country and the second biggest killer in men — now Hornsby Shire Council will work to support dementia patients regionwide.
Hornsby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hornsby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IT IS the single leading cause of death in women across the country and the second biggest killer in men — now Hornsby Shire Council will work to support dementia patients regionwide.
Labor councillor Janelle McIntosh said Hornsby would become the first dementia- friendly community in Sydney.
READ MORE:
Local services for people living with dementia
Respite care for those with dementia creates a homely feel
“We have an ageing population in Hornsby, which is higher than the Sydney average,” Cr McIntosh said.
“We have a healthy population, which means our residents are living longer and the threat of dementia will only increase.”
An existing initiative run in Hornsby is the Northern Sydney Dementia Collaborative by the Sydney North Primary Health Network.
The group works to support nationwide research and promote regional advocacy groups which provide education for the community.
Cr McIntosh said the regionwide scheme would support such groups as well as see the council liaise with businesses and develop focus groups on how to establish town centres as “dementia friendly”.
A total of 2.4 per cent of the region’s residents live with dementia, higher than the NSW average of 1.59 per cent, dementia care specialist Tim England said.
“The Hornsby Shire will be the first region in Sydney to adopt this initiative,” Mr England said. “Unfortunately this should have been adopted by every council in Australia a decade ago.”
Mr England said there had been little commitment by councils across the country to become dementia-friendly, despite an ambitious campaign across the globe.
He said key steps would be to educate the community and establish a dementia friendly steering committee.
“There is a new dementia case every three to four days on average in Hornsby and a new case every six minutes across Australia,” he said.
Joan Leuver, 81, is the primary carer of her husband Peter, 79, who lives with dementia.
“We need a community that is educated and aware of what dementia is,” she said.
“If someone, like my husband Peter, goes missing, I would hope people could identify that he has dementia and offer him support.”
Mrs Leuver said Peter was found wandering in the middle of Killeton St, St Ives, by police last month.
Mr Leuver, who was diagnosed with dementia 10 years ago, was spotted by a relative and taken home after flagging down police.
“I married Peter for better or worse — I made a commitment to him and I will care for him,” Mrs Leuver said.
