NHS Gloucestershire’s Ageing Well Team has been running events at different locations across the county, with a Dementia Action Day planned for every month in 2025.

January’s event took place at The Eastgate Shopping Centre in Gloucester where around 35 people came to ask questions and talk about their experiences of dementia.

This month’s event is set for Stroud, and the team are in the process of securing more community venues. Provisionally, a visit to the Forest is expected for Lydney or Coleford around October this year.

The action day project is run in partnership with the Dementia Action Alliance, a group focused around making sure people are able to enjoy living well in dementia friendly communities.

Mel Meller, Clinical Commissioning Manager for Dementia at NHS Gloucestershire said: “The action days provide an opportunity to go out and talk to people about issues relating to dementia.

“Some of the issues we discuss with people include diagnosis, prevention and access to support and services. Talking about these themes generates conversation and we are able to answer questions for people.”

Mel added: “It’s also useful to be able to talk to people face to face about the things you can do to reduce your risk of developing dementia, things like keeping active, eating healthily and exercising your mind.

“When we talk about exercising your mind it’s about ensuring you have good social networks and are avoiding becoming isolated or lonely.”

The NHS says the risk of dementia is lowest in people who have healthy lifestyles, but some factors for developing dementia can’t be changed. Healthy lifestyles make it possible to reduce the likelihood of getting dementia by up to a third.

Additional factors such as smoking, depression, excessive alcohol consumption, and low social contact can also increase the risk of developing dementia.

More information about dementia can be found online.