Improving dementia care in our NHS - great to meet and talk to Tynedale's Kevin Whately

Last week I met with Northumbrian born Kevin Whately at the launch of Alzheimer’s Society’s new campaign Fix Dementia Care. Kevin is an Alzheimer's ambassador and we had a short but good chat about the work he is doing and his family in Hexham.
The Alzheimer's campaign is calling for improvements in hospital care for people living with dementia. Specifically, it is aimed towards achieving greater transparency across the NHS. This follows an Alzheimer’s Society investigation, which found: too many people with dementia are falling while in hospital, are being discharged at night, or are being marooned in hospital despite their medical treatment having finished.

We need to end any postcode lottery that exists on the quality of hospital care people with dementia face. The first step to improving the issue across the country is greater transparency - once we know where the shortcomings are we can take steps to tackle them.

I have family members who have suffered from this terrible disease
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/mp-joins-assisted-walk-corbridge-7621737
and I am delighted to support Kevin and the AS efforts to address its symptoms and treatment, and have written to my local trust to ensure that we are doing all that we can at our local hospitals in Haltwhistle, Hexham and Cramlington to address good care of patients with dementia.
Similarly, I am a huge supporter of the work that Corbridge Parish Council have done - notably the wonderful Councillors Melvyn Stone, who trained me as a dementia friend. See more details of this here:
http://guyopperman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/dementia-friendly-villages-are-future.html

The Alzheimer’s Society is calling on people to back the Fix Dementia Care campaign by signing up at: www.alzheimers.org.uk/fixhospitalcare