This week is Dementia Action Week, and local services are joining forces to make sure people living with dementia on the Fylde coast have an active voice in the services available to support them.

Activities will be taking place throughout the week to help signpost people to existing support, and service leaders will be attending sessions to help ensure that consistent dementia care is a priority in local health and social care.

On Tuesday, a Dementia Wellbeing Event will welcome local people with dementia and their carers for music, arts and activities alongside advice and guidance from healthcare professionals at The Grange on Dinmore Avenue in Blackpool between 10am and 12noon.

Then local dementia care leaders will attend a networking meeting where the Dementia Action Plan for the Fylde coast will officially be launched. Trinity Hospice’s Admiral Nurse, Maxine Emslie, and local dementia groups will be representing all dementia services, and will share lived experiences gathered especially to showcase existing support and how it can be boosted.

Maxine said: “Dementia Action Week shines a spotlight on the existing support we have on the Fylde Coast for people living with dementia and their carers, and as usual we have some wonderful activities taking place to celebrate and support this group of people.

“But this year, we’re also launching the local Dementia Action Plan, setting the course for the future of care and support, and ensuring that local voices are heard when it comes to decision making.

“Across the Fylde coast, there are over 4,000 people recorded on the Dementia Register, and there are 270 people living with young onset dementia.

“Here at Trinity Hospice, we supported 619 people living with dementia last year through our dementia lounge and supportive activities, and there is an incredible amount of work in our community to signpost and support through dementia cafes and wellbeing events. The majority of these are volunteer-led.”

Also taking place during the week is the Dementia Tram event – a specially-commissioned trip on a Blackpool Heritage Tram for people living with dementia and their carers. They will enjoy a trip from Pleasure Beach to Little Bispham where they’ll enjoy fish and chips courtesy of Papa’s before returning.

Maxine and Admiral Nurse Assistant, Julie Woolley-Hemming will also sit on a panel discussion about dying well for people living with dementia at the 2026 Dementia, Delirium and Brain Health Meeting Birmingham on Wednesday.

For information on local support for people living with dementia, visit www.trinityhospice.co.uk and search Admiral Nurse.