6. 5. Statement: The Dementia Action Plan

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:59 pm on 16 May 2017.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 4:59, 16 May 2017

Thank you. It was remiss of me not to respond to Lynne Neagle’s point about the Gypsy/Traveller community. It is worth taking account of and thinking about how to take that forward—a recognised need that is not well covered. At a previous event of the cross-party group on Gypsies and Travellers I particularly recognised, with the research that was published, that there are still continuing deficits in our ability to provide adequate health and care provision with that particular community. Only some of that is about the cultural barriers that exist. Much of it is actually about the willingness of services to engage properly and effectively. I’m pleased you highlighted the example of British Gas. Other companies have been mentioned today, where awareness raising is taking place directly with staff, and about people understanding for themselves, and, within that large staff group, people will be directly affected. And there is often a generous response when the issue is discussed and debated within groups of people. Our challenge will be how successful we’ll be about getting more and more organisations to undertake that sort of approach.

I recognise that time has gone on and I want to try and be brief in answering the rest of your points. I am pleased that, earlier, you mentioned the point about trying something different. For some people, doing something different, like singing, is an important part of that, but it goes on to the second point of doing something to jog and retain memory and, often, music is an important part of triggering and retaining memory. And those other memories too, like the Sporting Memories that Lesley Griffiths was promoting earlier in the year as well—a really important example of understanding what has given meaning to someone’s life and enjoyment, as well. So, there are lots and lots of different areas that we want to try and promote, and, again, thinking about that good practice, where it exists. Often, much of that is easy to do and doesn’t require a great amount of money; it does require some time and understanding.