This autumn we played an active part in several events to raise awareness of dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s dementia. Following our question at the Westminster Social Policy Forum on the ‘Future for dementia care’ about what should be covered in the training for the new 1,000,000 Dementia Friends — given the range of dementias — we were delighted that Baroness Sally Greengross (pictured), who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia, commented, “I think it was important that somebody from the Lewy Body field spoke because we do need to remember that dementia takes many, many forms and sometimes follows other diseases, and, as we know, it’s very different [from Alzheimer’s].”

We submitted a written question to the Secretary of State for Health when he spoke at the Dementia Action Alliance Annual Meeting, drawing attention to the need not just for tracking of diagnosis rates for dementia, as laid out in the new NHS Mandate (indicator 2.6.i) but also to the accuracy of diagnosis, given that dementia with Lewy bodies is often initially mistaken for other conditions. We will publish the response when we receive it.

We exhibited at the UK Dementia Congress and supported Parkinson’s UK on their stand at the Care Show in Birmingham. We also took part in the launches of the Dementia Action Alliance call to action to create dementia friendly hospitals and the Yorkshire and Humber Dementia Action Alliance in order to ensure these initiatives take account of Lewy body dementias. You can read the Lewy Body Society’s action plan for the national Dementia Action Alliance by clicking here. We also took part in the Neurological Alliance Members’ Meeting and planning for the Month of the Brain campaign in May 2013.