Sharing opportunities in worldwide dementia care

The National and International Perspectives of Dementia conference was led by the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ
Ian Sherriff holding sunflower lanyard
There are over 10 million new cases of dementia each year worldwide, implying one new case every 3.2 seconds.
Now the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ has welcomed representatives from around the world to showcase projects supporting people with the condition – and the research taking place to tackle it.
The conference National and International Perspectives of Dementia was hosted by broadcaster Angela Rippon CBE, and highlighted local, regional, national and international initiatives making a difference worldwide.
Angela Rippon
International dementia conference 2025 crowd
International dementia conference 2025 cat and sweets on stand
Taking place at Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park, special guests included Irina Shevchenko, who is leading on Ukraine’s support for people with dementia, along with representatives from Japan, Belgium, Gibraltar to discuss community initiatives they have in place.
Plymouth Science Park’s Health Technology & Innovation Hub also demonstrated patient-centred technologies, with University researchers covering AI as a support tool for people with dementia and their families.

Inspiring the next generation

A key part of the day saw the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Nanfang College in Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China, with plans afoot to explore research opportunities and student exchanges.
The delegation, which included Dr Zeng Wen from the Health Bureau of the Government of Macao in the People’s Republic of China, also visited other local organisations including University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP).
Dafydd Moore signing MoU with Nanfang College in Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China NIHR PenARC
Delegation from Nanfang College in Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China meets University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust University Hospitals Plymouth

It was a pleasure to support the conference by hosting the delegation for a visit here at UHP.

Some of our colleagues were able to meet with the delegation and explain their work to ensure patients with dementia are treated with respect and dignity. They talked about the importance of multi-disciplinary work with partners to coordinate patients ongoing care and support, and the dementia care awareness training at the Trust. 
In conjunction with local authority agencies, the Trust has four Health Care of Elderly Wards which have all been awarded 'Dementia Friendly status', alongside our fracture clinic, chestnut unit, clinical decision unit. 

Rachel O’Connor, Director of Integrated Care, Partnerships, Strategy at UHP 

Raising awareness

Looking to raise further awareness locally, Angela Rippon and conference organiser Ian Sherriff BEM then shared a halftime video at Plymouth Argyle’s weekend game against Sheffield United to talk about dementia care.
Ian is the University’s Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia and explained why the conference and wider awareness were so important.

The University has explored people’s attitudes to dementia worldwide, and results are shocking.

Over half of people believe that dementia is a normal part of ageing and not something health professionals or the public need to worry about, but it’s a condition that desperately requires more education and research. 
However, with more support for carers, clinical trials and education and we can work towards finding treatments, and that’s what the conference is all about. 

Crucially, we want the next generation of health professionals to know more about the condition and how to support people with it, so we were pleased to welcome our visitors from the People’s Republic of China to explore future collaborations.

Ian Sherriff BEMMr Ian Sherriff BEM
Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia - supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC)

 

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