Club Meeting Mon 16 July

On Monday 16 July, we were visited by Jane McGoldrick, the West London fundraising representative of President Haydn’s charity for the year, Alzheimer's Society.

Jane explained that there are 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia. The word ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problemsolving or language. These changes are   often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but not the only one. The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia.

Alzheimer’s Society is a national charity  with centralised funding so all monies raised are paid into the national charity where decisions are taken on how such money should be used. The Society is a major supporter of research, but also provides varying types of support through local branches, working with NHS and other referrers. This support can take a number of forms including befriending,  singing, healthy walking or just discussion and consultation.

Support is provided to residents within the borough of Hounslow, but Jane acknowledged that there is a waiting list for individuals to receive their support services. At present, the support is  restricted to about 100 Hounslow residents, which, given national statistics, seems particularly low. This would seem to be due to a lack of resources available.

Since hearing from Jane, President Haydn has participated in a four mile “Memory Walk” in London.