August 27 - The Purple Angel: a universal symbol for dementia

On 27^th August Norman McNamara and Ostrich are inaugurating in Torbay the Purple Angel window stickers, given to dementia-friendly shops; a “Purple Angel Accreditation” to recognise their efforts in learning to deal with customers with dementia. Read the whole story now.

It all started with a blog. At Ostrich we take to heart all care problems, and dementia is an issue that we feel particularly close to. We all know or will know someone with dementia and it is important to understand everything this involves. This is why we decided to give the Purple Angel some extra wings, and why we invite experts to talk about different aspects of dementia, from the disease itself to ways of living with it better.

Norrms

One of our guests is Norman McNamara, the extraordinary Norrms, who was diagnosed with two types of dementia five and three years ago, when he was only 50 years old, which proves that dementia doesn’t affect only older people. Just like Laurence struggled to find all the information he wanted to care for his grandmother, Norrms struggled to find information regarding dementia other than Alzheimer’s disease. Both men reacted the same way: they created a place to share with others in their situations the answers they had been looking for: Laurence created Ostrich and Norrms (with the loving support of his wife Elaine) created the Torbay Dementia Action Alliance and D.A.D, Dementia Awareness Day, to be held on 21^st September every year, with the goal to raise awareness of all types of dementia.

Norrms is living proof that no matter how debilitating dementia can be, you can still accomplish amazing things: he has written books about dementia to help both people in his condition and Carers; he met with the PM twice to discuss dementia awareness; he has helped create Help cards with the Alzheimer’s Society, and he works hand in hand with the Department of Health. Who can say they have done the same, with or without dementia?

The importance of dementia-friendly… everything

Norrms also decided that dementia needed a symbol, which came in the form of a Purple Angel designed by Jane Moore. This angel is now reaching international recognition, with the Brooksville Regional Hospital, in the USA, starting to use it on wristbands to recognise patients with dementia. From Torbay to Florida, isn’t that impressive? This is because dementia is everyone’s problem and there are no frontiers for it.

But people with dementia aren’t all in hospitals, care homes or nursing homes (thankfully!), and although they can live their lives outside caring facilities, they do need to be given a helping hand. People like Norrms still live at home with a carer, but they do have dementia, which means that they aren’t autonomous for certain things, and their behaviour can seem strange to someone who isn’t dementia aware. Everyone, from the Police to banks, shops, post offices or even estate agents should have at least some kind of awareness, so people with dementia can continue to live as normally as possible. Caring for someone in a shop can simply be understanding and attentive if a person with dementia tries to pay and struggles with coins, or if they seem lost. People who aren’t dementia aware and see someone confused may just think they are drunk and not worry.

A guide to Dementia Awareness

Recognition should go both ways: people who do not have dementia should be aware of people who live with dementia, and people with dementia and their carers would benefit from knowing when they enter a shop that staff there will understand their special needs. This is why we have partnered with Norrms and decided to fund the creation of window stickers and of a Guide to Dementia Awareness that we can give to everyone who may come in contact with people with dementia. These shops, who should make sure that all staff have read and understood the simple guide, can then be awarded the Purple Angel logo in the form of a window sticker so people with dementia can see from the outside that staff there understand their condition.

Purple Angel Accreditation

If you are interested in receiving the Guide to Dementia Awareness and the Purple Angel Accreditation, please contact us by phone on 0844 770 2210 or by e-mail [email protected], and give some peace of mind to your customers and clients with dementia and their carers.