A new Surbiton care home recently welcomed officers from Kingston and Surbiton Metropolitan Police for a Dementia Awareness training session, helping equip local police with a greater understanding of people living with dementia, as well as the practical skills needed to better support them in the police's day-to-day community work.

Opening to new residents in October, Signature at Surbiton is the latest luxury care home from Signature Senior Lifestyle, which operates 11 other homes around London including the long-established Coombe Hill Manor in Kingston.

The home hosted eight local police officers for a session led by Sue Morgan, Care Manager at Signature at Surbiton. The training focused on helping officers recognise the signs and symptoms of dementia and understand how the condition can affect memory, communication, perception and behaviour.

As police officers can often come into contact with people living with dementia at moments when they may be frightened, confused or vulnerable, the training session focused on helping officers understand that an individual's behaviour may be driven by their dementia.

This can be exacerbated by fear, confusion, an unfamiliar environment or difficulty understanding what is being asked of them. The training provided a vital understanding of how to act and engage with people living with dementia, especially as no two people experience the condition the same way.

The training explored how to identify possible triggers, reduce distress and adapt how the officers communicate.

Even simple measures like allowing additional time for conversations, using clear and concise language, reducing unnecessary noise, offering reassurance and avoiding confrontation can help someone feel safer and better understood.

Officers were given practical guidance on how they can respond in these challenging situations, including identifying potential triggers, reducing distress, adapting the way they communicate and providing reassurance.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

The session was intentionally interactive, with officers encouraged to ask questions, share experiences from their own work and discuss situations they may encounter when supporting people across Kingston and Surbiton.

Sue Morgan, Care Manager at Signature at Surbiton, said: "We were delighted to welcome officers from Kingston and Surbiton Police to Signature at Surbiton and share some of our knowledge and experience around supporting people living with dementia.

"Police officers can meet people living with dementia in a wide variety of circumstances and understanding what may be causing someone to feel confused, distressed or frightened can make a significant difference to how that situation develops.

"We hope the session has given the officers greater confidence and some practical techniques they can use when supporting people in the local community."

Following the training session, Signature at Surbiton said it "hopes to continue building its relationship with Kingston and Surbiton Police, as well as working with other local organisations and community groups to share knowledge and strengthen support for people living in the area".

Once officially open in October, Signature at Surbiton says it will be "focused on offering person-centred care to residents living with dementia and a lifestyle filled with purpose, variety, relationships, and meaningful moments alongside specialist health and care".

We want to provide Kingston with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.