Dementia Tour Bus returns throughout Wrexham in the new year

Have you ever wondered what day to day life is like for people living with dementia?

Taking place in a small bus, a virtual experience aims to give participants an experience of what life is like for people living with dementia.

Wrexham Council say: “Invented twenty years ago, the Virtual Dementia Tour Bus is the only scientifically and medically proven method of giving a person with a healthy brain an experience of what dementia might be like and it is coming to Wrexham.”

Cllr Joan Lowe, Lead Member for Health and Adult Social Care said: “The dementia bus is unique as it gives you the chance to walk in the shoes of someone living with dementia. You can start to understand the many different issues they face every day. You will experience being confused, isolated, lost, intimidated, vulnerable and much more and therefore understand what you need to change to improve quality of care.

“If you have a loved one living with dementia, or would benefit from having better knowledge and more understanding of what it is like to have dementia, get in touch with the team and book a place on the bus.”

As we wrote earlier in the year when we tried out the bus ourselves, groups of three are taken onto the bus and to make sure there are no spoilers or indication of what to expect, there were no opportunities to immediately speak to members of the groups after they had completed their tour.

Without giving too much away once inside the bus, your senses and fine motor skills are challenged, making the most basic of tasks difficult and seemingly impossible.

You’re later told that everyone reacts differently inside the bus and that everyone takes away a different experience. However the aim is that everyone has a clearer understanding of life with dementia and the small things you can do to help make a person’s life easier.

The second part of the session is an explainer and discussion about why you were put into the various situations and made to feel a certain way whilst in the bus.

This, coupled with the tour itself, provides a engaging insight into the various stages and types of dementia.

The Virtual Dementia Tour Bus will be at the following locations:
14 and 15 January – Penley Rainbow Centre
16 January – Overton on Dee
17 January – Plas Pentwyn – Coedpoeth
18 January – Morrison’s, Wrexham
21 and 22 January – Chirk hospital
23 January – Canolfan Community Centre – Glyn Ceiriog
11 February – Asda Wrexham
13 and 14 February – Environment and Planning Department, Abbey Road South, Wrexham Industrial Estate.
15 February – Suite 11, Bryn Estyn business centre, Bryn Lane, Wrexham
18 and 19 February – Coleg Cambria, Coleg Cambria, Yale Campus, Grove Road, Wrexham
22 February – Acton resource Centre
25 February – Eagles Meadow
26 February – Queens square, Wrexham
27 February – Ashgrove care home, Chester Road, Gresford. Wrexham
1 March – Gwersyllt resource Centre

Bookings will be taken from the 2nd January 2019

To book a place email [email protected]

Sessions are 2.5 hours long and different time slots are available at each venue. Please ring 01978 292993 / 01978 292972 for more information.