17 May 2023
We are proud to share that our hospitality venue, Port Kitchen, is the first café in the Adur area to be recognised by Alzheimer’s Society as Dementia Friendly. We received our certification at our Dementia Friendly coffee morning, during Dementia Action Week.
Ambitious sustainability goals, a commitment to local produce and a community focus is at the heart of Port Kitchen, aligning with the Port’s award-winning values and Trust Port status. In our unrivalled location at Shoreham Port, our café aims to cater for everyone and has been designed with accessibility in mind. Our Dementia Friendly accreditation recognises Port Kitchen as a suitable, welcoming and accessible environment for people living with dementia.
Those living with dementia can experience many issues which may impact their day to day lives. Memory, concentration, perception and mobility may all be affected. However, by making simple changes to public spaces to make them more accessible, those living with dementia can remain engaged with their local community. This can have a huge impact on wellbeing, reducing isolation and enabling independence.
While many adaptations were already in place at our venue, the Port Kitchen team met with the Alzheimer’s Society to learn about how Dementia may impact our customers and what changes we could make to ensure our venue is a safe and welcoming place for those living with dementia. Following some small improvements, we were pleased to pass their Environment Audit.
Members of the Port Kitchen team also undertook Dementia Friends training delivered by the Alzheimer’s Society, which provided colleagues with the knowledge and understanding to offer support to people living with dementia and their carers when they visit Port Kitchen. Trained colleagues will wear Forget Me Not badges to indicate their awareness and that they can offer extra support if needed.
Port colleagues received the certificate at Port Kitchen this morning, joined by representatives from the Alzheimer’s Society and Chair of Adur District Council, Councillor Andy McGregor.
Port Kitchen General Manager, Polly Child, said: “We're honoured to be recognised as a Dementia Friendly café and to be given this accreditation today, during Dementia Action Week. Thank you to everyone who came down to see us receive our certificate and who purchased our special promotions to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society.”
Dawn Fairbrother, Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friendly Communities Coordinator commented “Port Kitchen has been working closely with local volunteers from the Adur Dementia Friendly Community to understand what it means for a venue to be dementia friendly. The staff have attended a dementia awareness session and learnt more about the symptoms of dementia and how they can affect everyday life.”
Dawn continued "Front of House and Back of House colleagues were keen to implement what they learnt and realised that minor changes, like turning off the music, could ensure that people with dementia will find the venue calming and welcoming. This is a new venture, and everyone at Port Kitchen has worked so hard to get this right. It’s wonderful to see such a community focused venue. I hope that local people living with dementia will support Port Kitchen, by visiting the café regularly.”
“If you want to follow in Port Kitchen’s inspiring footsteps, why not get involved with Alzheimer’s Society this Dementia Action Week (15-21 May) or wear a Forget Me Not badge during May to send a message to everyone affected by dementia that they have not been forgotten.”
Categories: Community, Announcements
