New look Alzheimer's Society website

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New website goes live
Published Tuesday 13th November 2007 in General news

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scrip ... newsID=222

The new look Alzheimer's Society website is online and on target to becoming the leading one-stop shop for people living with the condition, their carers and other online users.

The website was launched on Tuesday 13 October, following consultation with people with dementia and their carers. It features facts and advice about Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, an online shop with dementia-related publications and resources and a postcode search tool for services. It allows people to find out about services from more than 260 branches across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Said Dajani, Alzheimer's Society website manager, says,

'We have always taken the internet seriously and research shows our users do as well. We had more than a million unique visitors last year and the website has been developed to meet the needs of our growing audience.

The internet can also help us to operate as efficiently as possible, whether through online donations or information downloads. This means more money can go into researching dementia and supporting more than 700,000 people living with the condition.'

The website has been developed with Jadu CMS and Jadu Galaxies. The overall design was devised to provide an accessible layout and navigation structure for every visitor, including those with dementia and other cognitive disabilities. The design also reflects the charity's new brand.

People with dementia and their carers can share their experiences and seek advice on the website, through the newly developed Alzheimer's Forum and Talking Point microsites. They can also send questions directly to national helpline via an online form.

Neil Hunt, chief executive Alzheimer's Society, says,

'Increasingly people are looking for information online and investing in our web architecture will help us to reach them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The numbers of people living with dementia will reach more than a million in less than 20 years. Those diagnosed, their carers, family and friends need access to fast and accurate information and that is something we can provide, whether it is over the telephone, through our branches and now online too.'

You can use the website feedback form to let us know what you think of the new Alzheimer's Society website.

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Electronic tagging – enabling or disabling people with dementia?

http://www.careandhealth.com/Apps/carea ... 9ad0d6241f

The latest sign of over zealous Big Brother or the future for empowering people with dementia? When electronic tagging was suggested as a way of tracking people with dementia it sparked a nationwide debate on the ethics of assistive technology.

Now the Alzheimer's Society is launching a new policy on electronic tagging and safer walking technology and people with dementia and their carers are being asked to speak out.
Many people with dementia feel compelled to walk about, a symptom often described as wandering.

Up to 60 per cent of people with the condition may wander and 40 per cent of them have got lost at some time outside their homes.

Walking can provide significant benefits for people with dementia, but also presents some risks. If a person with dementia wanders alone and unannounced it also causes distress for family carers and loved ones.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, says,

‘We know new technology is available and could offer benefits to people with dementia and their carers.

There is a careful balance to strike between empowering people and restricting their movement and this technology can certainly never be used as an alternative for high quality dementia care.

‘We would like to see people with dementia and their carers joining the discussion on safer walking technology and what role it can play in the fight against a condition affecting 700,000 people in the UK.'

Tracking devices use global positioning technology as a way of locating a person with dementia if they are lost. A carer, close friend or specialist team can then collect them and bring them back home.

The Alzheimer's Society is releasing new guidance on safer walking technology including calls for more research into its use and ability to support people with dementia and their carers.

The charity believes people should have access to devices if it is appropriate and they want them.

Advanced decisions about this technology could be used before people reach the later stages of dementia, when they may have lost mental capacity.

Jo from Oxford, cares for his wife who has Alzheimer's disease. He says,

‘When my wife first wandered we were in London and I spent the night sitting in a police station waiting for her.

If I could have had any way of finding her then it would have been hugely valuable. It is important to have devices which are practical and small enough to have on you all the time.'

People can share their views on safer walking technology on the Alzheimer's Society website at www.alzheimers.org.uk/talkingpoint For more information contact the national helpline on 0845 300 0336.