Angela Rippon is the celebrity ambassador for Care UK’s campaign “the Big Dementia Conversation”.

The legendary broadcaster says: “My late mother Edna was diagnosed with dementia in 2004, so I’ve spent the last 20 years doing the very thing Care UK want to do via their campaign which is have conversations. When my mother was diagnosed, I knew diddly about dementia and there was a sharp learning curve to find out more about the disease, how it would affect her, how it would progress, and how I could help her live with it.

“As a broadcaster I have been asked to talk about it publicly at conventions, in newspapers and in a television documentary. But I have also spoken to friends and relatives who asked me the kinds of questions which were roaming about in my head when my mother got her diagnosis. I found that by having these conversations it gave them the knowledge and understanding, but also the confidence, to go forward and get an early diagnosis.”

Rippon adds that understanding dementia symptoms, beyond the obvious lapses in memory, can help care for dementia sufferers in an empathetic way: “Those suffering with dementia can lose their temper very easily and get agoraphobia. And I tell my friends they need to be aware that their parents are living in a parallel universe, so you need to inhabit that with them.

“In their mind, they are asking you a question for the first time not the fifteenth. If they are angry or vitriolic that’s the dementia speaking and not your loved one. These sorts of things are important to know, and that’s why I’m very happy to be associated with the campaign. It’s a very serious condition of brain loss which needs early diagnosis and understanding.

“The most important thing is don’t be in denial. If you are worried about a loved one, you need to have that conversation, and if you can get them early diagnosis this sets you on the path of understanding how you can help that person live well with dementia. Be informed – and talk – because the more we talk the more we will understand and the more we understand the better life will be for people who live with dementia.”

Suzanne Mumford, Care UK’s head of dementia and lifestyle, says there is a persistent stigma around dementia: “People are very fearful and often in denial about their relatives. They might have difficulty carrying out daily tasks or changes in how they concentrate, and while that might be due to an infection or hearing loss, it’s best to go to the doctor and see what it is.

“If it is dementia there’s a lot we can do, including drugs to manage the symptoms. This campaign really helps people find a way to have a conversation about dementia and explore how they feel about it, how other people have experienced dementia, and signposts them to the right places to get help.”

This sympathy and understanding also needs to extend to clinical environments. Mumford points out: “We try to keep them at home for as long as possible, but when they come into a care setting it’s important to keep it as quiet and familiar as possible, and that it’s signposted well, it’s light and airy, and there are things to do.

“One size does not fit all, and it’s really important to get the relationships right and understand the person and their individual symptoms. But often when people with dementia come into hospital it’s too noisy and chaotic for them. They are trying to make sense of their current reality while they are in the midst of somewhere crazy with people coming and going and not much privacy. Because the brain is dying and it can’t process information as quickly or easily, we need to home in on the familiar and make sure they are safe and comfortable in their surroundings.”

Rippon adds: “There are departments at Edinburgh and Newcastle University where they have architects, engineers and builders looking at things like the floor covering – for example if the carpet is too dark they may mistake it for a pool of water. Or not having mirrors as they may not recognise themselves and become frightened.”

Things like ensuring there aren’t huge variations in floor covering between rooms which may be mistaken for a step are also important – although Mumford stresses that each patient has different needs.

You can find out more about the Big Dementia Conversation here. This month (January) there is also a helpline set up with specialist dementia nurses on-call to talk at 03301732226.