Call for an instant quote 0345 90 80 161
Open Mon to Fri 09:00 - 17:30 | Sat 09:00 - 16:00 (GMT)
Or call 0345 90 80 161
08 May 2014 08:31
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is one of the stars backing the dementia campaign
Stars from the worlds of music, sport, comedy and television are coming together to raise awareness of dementia.
Musicians Chris Martin, Lily Allen and Alesha Dixon have teamed up with footballer Leighton Baines, comedian Simon Pegg, actor Ray Winstone and presenter Paul O'Grady to create a new advert to drum up support for sufferers with the condition.
They want to encourage people to become "dementia friends" to help boost volunteering, education and care nationwide.
The condition, which is associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities, usually occurs in people over the age of 65. People in this age group can protect themselves on holiday by taking out travel insurance that is specific to them, covering thousands of medical conditions and providing access to 24/7 emergency assistance.
Memory loss, thinking speed, mental agility, language, understanding and judgement are all affected by dementia.
The pop stars will be seen performing The Beatles' track I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends in the ad.
Author Sir Terry Pratchett, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease himself, is also involved in the call to arms, which will see volunteers who take part in the scheme attend free sessions to learn how to spot the signs of dementia and offer support for sufferers.
A new report compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business research on behalf of Dementia Friends - the Alzheimer's Society's campaign - reveals that businesses in England are losing out on £1.6 billion each year because of employees' caring obligations for people who have dementia.
It estimates that 50,000 carers will have to quit their job this year due to caring responsibilities, while a further 66,000 will have to make adjustments to the number of hours they work to fit in such duties.
Public Health England and the Alzheimer's Society are therefore encouraging more people to sign up to the Dementia Friends initiative.
02 March 2019
A Flybe flight was forced to abort take-off due to the cabin filling with "smoke" while it was accelerating along the runway at Exeter Airport.
[more...]
01 March 2019
Holidaymakers will soon be able to take advantage of the first direct flight from London to Scotland's Western Isles after Loganair announced three new routes.
28 February 2019
Over one in five women in the UK wrongly think a smear test can detect ovarian cancer, new research has revealed.
27 February 2019
One in 10 UK adults over the age of 40 is living with Type 2 diabetes, new analysis suggests - but the real figure could be much higher.
26 February 2019
British Airways has revealed the second of its series of retro liveries being recreated as part of the airline's 100th birthday celebrations.
23 February 2019
The price of a prescription in England is set to rise again, the Government has announced, in a move some campaigners have called disappointing.
22 February 2019
Just half an hour of exercise every morning could be as effective as drugs at lowering daily blood pressure, research suggests.
21 February 2019
A British man accidentally used the wrong passport to fly from Prague to the UK, leaving his friend stranded in the Czech capital.
19 February 2019
Hundreds of passengers have had their travel plans cancelled following the collapse of airline flybmi.
16 February 2019
Holidaymakers were left fuming after a "lack of clarity" over Brexit led a Romanian airline to cancel flights from Liverpool's John Lennon Airport.
15 February 2019
British Airways celebrated Valentine's Day with a special flight where all members of the cabin crew were couples who work for the airline.
14 February 2019
The "concerning" level of stigma surrounding the human papilloma virus (HPV) could be putting some women off going for vital check-ups, campaigners are warning.