Dementia Conference will tackle ‘a global issue’

Forty-five concurrent session presentations will address topics ranging from assistive technology, end-of-life care, design, and environment, to staff education, attitudes, language, and support.

Established by Stirling University’s Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), the International Dementia Conference will run alongside the Care & Dementia Show (www.careshow.co.uk), taking place at the NEC, Birmingham.

Professor June Andrews, the DSDC’s director, said: “This is a conference for everyone who wants to know how to better serve and care for those affected by dementia. Best practice ideas will be shared, and trends revealed that will help many sectors prepare to confront this increasingly important subject.”

The conference will be addressed by Dame Joan Bakewell. Plenary speakers from the UK, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Hong Kong, and the US, will include:

• Professor June Andrews, who advises health departments and service-providers worldwide on improving services for people with dementia and their carers.
• Professor Timothy Kwok, director of Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
• Professor Manuel Carrasco, Aita-Menni Hospital, Psychiatric Research Institute, Spain.
• Professor Alistair Burns, national clinical director for Dementia, NHS England, and Professor of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Manchester.
• Professor Tara Cortes, New York University College of Nursing.
• Dr Sridhar Vaitheswaran MD, MRCPsych, consultant psychiatrist, Schizophrenia Research Foundation (India).
• Shirley Law, head of Learning & Development, DSDC.

The event will also include an evening awards ceremony on 3 November. For more information and to register online, visit www.internationaldementiaconference.co.uk