This booklet published by Healthwatch Devon aims to enable health centres to adopt dementia friendly practice and to ensure that people with dementia have a positive experience of primary care.

Download Becoming a dementia friendly GP Surgery

People living with dementia can find it difficult to understand signage and require addtional help to find their way. Small changes can have a big impact on improving accessibility, such as

• Consider dementia friendly signs around your building, and
• You could also display a dementia friendly clock in the waiting room.

Suggestions about how to book appointments in a more dementia friendly way include:

• Ensure your appointments system is user friendly
• Offer double appointments. Communication and understanding is often an issue for people living with dementia – give people extra time to enable better consultation, and
• Remind the patient with a dementia diagnosis, or their care partner, of their appointment via a pre appointment telephone call if required.

Finally, support your workforce by ensuring all staff are Dementia Friends and encourage a member of staff to become a Dementia Friends Champion.