HEALTH professionals were told to develop a more compassionate understanding of dementia at a meeting in Bridgwater.

More than 70 delegates from the NHS, local health authorities and the voluntary sector gathered at The Exchange, in Express Park, on Monday, for an event which launched National Dementia Awareness Week.

George Giarchi, a professor of social care studies with the University of Plymouth, told the gathered health and social care professionals not to see dementia simply as an illness of very old age, but to better understand it from both the patient’s and the carer’s perspective.

He said: “There are still some health professionals who fall into a trap of just seeing the dementia patient as just another case or illness.

“They too can get compassion fatigue and when supporting many people they can become indifferent at times. We all need to see the person behind the illness.”

Professor Giarchi said the fact that older people were living longer, more active and independent lives should be celebrated, and they should not be seen as a burden to society.

Professor Giarchi said it was also important to look after those who care for dementia sufferers, the majority of whom are over 65 themselves.

Penny Guppy, a public health specialist with NHS Somerset, also told the meeting progress was being made on Somerset’s three-year dementia strategy, which aims to give patients an earlier diagnosis.