Portsmouth GP practice group classed dementia friendly

The Portsdown Group Practice, which cares for more than 43,000 patients in six surgeries across Portsmouth, has become the 100th practice to be given the status.

It means more than half of GP surgeries across Hampshire are involved in the iSPACE initiative, spearheaded by Wessex Academic Health Science Network.

Carly Darwin, the Portsdown Group Practice’s operations manager, said: ‘I am proud and delighted that we have been accredited as a dementia friendly primary care provider.

‘Our staff really engaged with the process, particularly the dementia champions that have volunteered to represent each site, and we have all found the process very enlightening.

‘Many of our staff have family or friends who have been affected by dementia, and so it really is a topic close to our hearts.’