Dementia awareness campaign launched

Parliamentary secretary for active ageing Justyne Caruana launched a campaign to raise awareness on dementia, entitled #endzheimer

"The aim of ending Alzheimer's is utopic but we want to end to the stigma so that people can have the same rights and dignity of all," Caruana said. 

She explained that following the launch of the nine-year strategy a few days ago, the implementation process had already begun.  

"We have already implemented various training strategies. Now the next step is to raise awareness through the campaign, which will see many personalities endorsing it." Miss World Malta Katrina Pavia, lending her support, was present at the launch.

"We will be passing on our message through the media, online and through leaflet distributions," she added.

The next step, she explained, will be answering to the needs of the patients through things like prolonging the hours of the helpline to create a 24-hour service, with the help of staff at St Vincent de Paul, among others.

"We will also launch www.dementia.gov.mt, which will allow people to contact professionals to ensure professional advice and information."

"We will also be holding training sessions for informal carers as many patients are cared for by their relatives. "

She explained that the secretariat had also started a call for dementia intervention teams; 

"We aim to have four (teams) to cater to various localities in the future but for now only one is operational. The team goes into communities and provides immediate help to patients and families." 

Caruana said that they were also working with local councils for projects like colour coding in every day life, training for council workers and other civil servants as well as those in the service industry to be able to help people live as normal a life as possible. 

"We will also work to create a dementia-friendly society, which is as yet very far off, but our aim is to become the first country with this characteristic," she said, stressing that dementia is a condition like any other and people shouldn't be abandoned following their diagnosis