Dementia Support Australia will launch a series of free workshops in Darwin on August 3 for aged care workers and home carers engaged with people, family members, or friends living with dementia.

The workshops will be held at Rydges Palmerston, 15 Maluka Drive, and will run from 10 am to midday for family/friends carers with time for one-on-one support from the team post-event; and 2 pm to 5 pm for healthcare providers, followed by a networking session from 5 pm to 6 pm.

Dementia Support Australia’s workshop will centre on supporting complex dementia, bringing together experts to discuss critical dementia care issues, including why medication might not be the answer in behaviour support, programs that keep people living with dementia at home for longer by supporting their carers, and accessing support when more care is needed.

DSA head of clinical services Associate Professor Steve Macfarlane will also discuss alternatives to pharmacology in treating people living with dementia with Behaviours and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD).

BPSD includes psychosis, agitation and aggression, depression, anxiety, apathy, impulsivity, appetite and eating changes, sleep disturbances, distress during personal care and wayfinding difficulties.

“These two workshops offer carers and health professionals the opportunity to hear from local and national experts. One family carer who attended our Adelaide workshop told us: I sometimes feel I am walking through a minefield alone … hearing others’ experiences is … in a way, balm for my soul. I know I’m not alone,” DSA head Marie Alford said.

The Northern Territory, with more than 1,500 people affected by dementia, continues to have the highest hospitalisation and death rate in Australia of people with dementia-related conditions.

The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare estimates 401,300 people are living with dementia nationally, a number projected to rise 70 per cent over the next 20 years, to 682,500.

Dementia Support Australia is funded by the Commonwealth Government as a proactive support organisation, which aims to reduce the risk and impact of behaviours escalating and working in partnership with family carers, residential and acute care, and home care providers to provide timely support on the ground.

Among DSA’s top programs is its Staying at Home program, a free carer wellbeing and respite program designed to empower and upskill carers to support people living with dementia to remain at home as long as possible.