Bolton family caregivers “shouldn’t be forgotten” is one of the key messages being shared across the borough this Dementia Action Week.

Dementia Action Week is running from today, Monday, May 15 to Sunday, May 21, in a campaign by Alzheimer’s Society to share the importance of a diagnosis for both the benefit of those living with the disease and their families.

There are currently around 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK.

In Bolton, the diagnosis rate sits at 68.8 percent - which is slightly higher than the national diagnosis rate target of 66.7 percent. 

Families around Greater Manchester have been raising awareness of a timely diagnosis which will open doors to the right support. 

And this year the theme of Dementia Action Week is "Act on Dementia" – advising people to seek further help from health and social care services near them.

Christine, from Bolton, cares for her husband who has been living with dementia since 2015, and has been accessing support from Empowered Conversations. 

The free AgeUK Bolton service offers a communication course and virtual therapeutic support sessions for individuals or families caring for someone - but requires a diagnosis to access.

Christine said: “There’s an instant empathy with other people who are on the course.

“Life can be very lonely for a carer, the advantage of a course like this is that it has taken away the loneliness out of my caring.

“I found comfort, control, and I felt safe because it was all happening in the comfort of my own home, I had complete confidence in their confidentiality.

“I benefit, and my husband benefits because I have been given an insight into how he’s coping with life, how he’s thinking and why he does particular things that I might not have understood.

“One of the key symptoms of dementia is forgetting, but dementia carers and patients shouldn’t be forgotten.”

With support from The National Lottery Community Fund over the last two years, the team at Empowered Conversations has worked with 358 family caregivers through the delivery of communication courses across Greater Manchester and one-to-one dementia therapeutic support in Salford and Bolton. 

Rachel Yates-Hoyles, project manager for Empowered Carers Bolton, said: “We hear from the many carers that we support that they feel lost and alone, before and after a diagnosis. 

“Having the Empowered team makes them feel less alone and able to open up to talk and learn more about dementia and what they are experiencing. 

“It’s really important that if people see the signs of dementia in a loved one, that they seek a diagnosis so that they can access the support that is right for the family.

“The team are delighted to have secured a further £220,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund to continue the delivery of our work over the next three years.” 

Find out more about Empowered Conversations courses for family and professional carers here. 

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.