Care provider Colten Care’s leadership academy held a conference for 80 staff members to discuss the latest developments in dementia services.

Connecting Through Dementia 2024 brought together 80 attendees in Bournemouth for a day of presentations, panel discussions and interactive workshops.

The main theme was the importance of connecting physically, emotionally and spontaneously with people who live with dementia so that they feel valued, cared for and loved.

Conference delegates included nurses, carers, specialists in dementia therapies, and colleagues such as training managers, chefs and care companions who work alongside clinical teams.

Colten Care operations manager Peter Doyle said: “It was about how we all connect with those living with dementia and their familes. We focused on what outstanding clinical care and the wider mix of care services should look like in the context of enabling people to live well with dementia.”

Speakers included Peter Berry and Deb Bunt, co-authors of a book charting a year in Peter’s life after he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia aged 50. Other experts who spoke included Kay Gibson, Colten Care’s Admiral Nurse, who has evolved a company-wide dementia care strategy since her appointment in 2016.