Are you concerned about a change in behaviour of an elderly neighbour?

Did you know that almost 1 million people in the UK have dementia?

In the UK there are more women with dementia than men. People over 65 are much more likely to get dementia, but it can affect younger people too.

Dementia is a group of symptoms. It’s caused by different diseases that damage the brain and stop it from working properly. Different types of dementia damage different parts of the brain.

As a person’s dementia progresses, they may begin to behave in ways that other people find difficult to understand. This can be one of the most difficult aspects of living with dementia, both for the person with the condition and those around them.

Changes in behaviour are sometimes the first sign that someone has dementia. For some people, they can come on gradually and can be hard to recognise at first. For others, the changes can be more sudden.

It’s important to remember that the person isn’t trying to be difficult. The behaviour can be just as challenging for them as for the people supporting them. Examples of this type of behaviour could include:

• Repetitive behaviour
• Trailing, following and checking
• Hiding, hoarding and losing things
• Losing inhibitions
• Accusing
• Agitation including restlessness
• Aggressive behaviour
• Agitation and distress in the evening (Sundowning)
• Sleep disturbance and waking up at night
• Social withdrawal
• Wandering

Our ASB team have had reports from concerned neighbours about older people causing what could be described as a nuisance, such as noise throughout the night, aggressive behaviour, walking up and down corridors and behaviour that generally seems out of character. In a number of these cases it has been confirmed that the person with this behaviour has a diagnosis of dementia.

If your older neighbour or someone in the community has started acting differently or they are doing things that seem out of character, they could have dementia or they could have other health issues.

We want to encourage people to look out for their neighbours. Please contact the team on 0800 358 3783 or on email at [email protected] if you would like to speak confidentially to one of the case officers.

If you think someone is at risk either to themselves or to someone else and it is an emergency, please do not hesitate to contact the police on 999.

If you have concerns about yours, or another person’s mental wellbeing you can contact the single point of access team.

The Single Point of Access is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

You can call the team on 0800 0234 650 or email [email protected]

The Single Point of Access provides one number and one email address for referrals to secondary mental health services and support in a mental health crisis in the Boroughs of Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster.

You can also call NHS 111 and select the mental health option if you are experiencing something that makes you feel unsafe, distressed, or worried about your mental health. 

For advice, support or further information there is also the Dementia connect support line on 0333 150 3456

Did you know you could also become a dementia friend, a Dementia Friend is somebody that learns about dementia so they can help their community, You can find out more details here: dementiafriends.org.uk