The event was organised by Memory Assessment Service Lead in Luton and Bedfordshire, Dr Aneeba Anwar and it was co hosted by BLMK Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Dr Marina Palomo.
Approximately 70 people attended the all day conference from across Luton and Bedfordshire, including East of England Higher Trainees, London and BLMK colleagues, and multi-disciplinary team (MDT) members from the Memory Assessment Service.
The day saw varied speakers including a well-received talk from a carers and patient perspective as well as research leaders from University of Cambridge, UCL, and researchers in the field of dementia.
Dr Anwar said: “It was a privilege to bring together colleagues, carers, and people with lived experience at the 3rd Dementia Conference. The day highlighted not only the importance of compassionate, person-centred care but also the existing progress being made in areas such as dementia biomarkers, genetics and AI.
“For our MDT staff, it was a valuable opportunity to learn, connect and reflect on how we can better diagnose and support individuals, especially those facing the unique challenge of rare dementias. In challenging times, collaboration, compassion and shared learning remain our greatest strengths.”
The event saw excellent feedback, including:
- ‘This was a well-organised and informative event’
- ‘Excellent conference. Looking forward to attend next year’
- ‘The conference covered a broad range of important topics’
- 'Hearing from the service user was very insightful’
- ‘It was educative and it provided clinically relevant information’