Alzheimer Scotland Partnership: Our Year in Review

At Clyde Munro, caring for our local communities and making patients feel like family is at the heart of everything we do. That’s why working with our charity partners throughout the year is incredibly important to us. Alzheimer Scotland, a Scotland-based charity making sure that no-one goes through dementia alone, is an organisation Clyde Munro is tremendously proud to support. Here are just some of the activities our teams have been involved in:

Dementia Friends

Clyde Munro works hard to ensure its care is inclusive and wide ranging, and we’re committed to continuously developing our knowledge to support as many patients as possible. As part of this, we’re proud to support the Dementia Friends initiative run by Alzheimer Scotland, equipping our staff with a better understanding of how to help those living with dementia.

For patients affected by dementia, a routine visit to the dentist can be an overwhelming and sometimes traumatic experience. The Dementia Friends training gives our teams vital knowledge about the condition and the challenges individuals and their carers are likely to face, allowing practice staff to treat patients in consideration of this. This training not only gives our staff a deeper understanding of the disease but provides our teams with guidance on how to make visits to the dental practices a more comfortable and inclusive experience overall.

So far more than 60% of Clyde Munro practices have received their training, with the aim of upskilling the whole group by later this year. Interested in finding out more about Dementia Friends training? Visit the Alzheimer Scotland website here.

Fundraising for Alzheimer Scotland

Supporting our partner charities where they need it most is key to the Clyde Munro ethos; last year our teams were kept busy by taking part in a calendar of Alzheimer Scotland campaigns and events to help raise essential funds and awareness. And wherever our amazing teams raised money, Clyde Munro committed to matching it with a company donation.

In Spring, as part of Dementia Awareness Week, Clyde Munro invited all of its practice teams to take part in Alzheimer Scotland’s ‘Tea and Blether’ campaign. This was a chance to sit down with a cup of tea, some tasty treats and get talking about dementia. Some talented individuals even took to the kitchen to bring in some impressive home baking, which raised a whopping £705.

Catching the last of the summer sun in September, Clyde Munro came together to take part in Alzheimer Scotland’s flagship fundraising event, Scotland’s Memory Walk. Every year, thousands of fantastic supporters sign up for their local Memory Walk, raising vital funds to support people with dementia and those who care for them. Clyde Munro were proud to make a donation of £2,736 in support of this campaign.

With the nights drawing in, we continued to show our support by assisting with bucket collections, donating hand-knitted blankets for fundraising auctions and attending the charities’ Crystal Ball event in November.

And whilst our practice teams were kept busy throughout the year, Clyde Munro funded the installation of an innovative ‘tap to donate’ machine in Glasgow’s Braehead Shopping Centre, enabling contactless, one-off donations to be made by shoppers and passers-by. You can find this on the second floor next time you’re having some retail therapy!

What’s next?

As the new year begins, our team are looking forward to strengthening the existing relationship with Alzheimer Scotland. That’s why 2023 will see the start of Clyde Munro’s journey with Brain Health Scotland, services hosted and supported by Alzheimer Scotland. Through collaborative new partnerships and vital research support, we’ll help to explore the crossovers between brain health and oral health, helping to evolve this area of work where we can.

If you would like to know more about our work with Alzheimer Scotland or the other charity initiatives Clyde Munro supports, you can chat to your dental team at your next appointment or get in touch with our ESG team through Fiona Jarvis: fiona.jarvis@clydemunrodental.com