DEMENTIA – the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by certain diseases or conditions, such as Alzheimer's – brings confusion and a sense of isolation to sufferers and carers alike.

The Mid Devon Dementia Awareness Day and information fair in July has been designed to help reduce such fears, by offering members of the public expert insights into the condition and what is available to support patients and carers.

In paying tribute to the value of such days, the daughter of a sufferer in Mid Devon said: 'We realised that my mother had a memory problem, and when it was confirmed we felt like "fish out of water", not knowing where to turn. The clinical psychiatric nurse gave us some information, but we felt we needed more to understand the illness. Dementia awareness days are great to help understand the progression of the illness and how we as carers could be better prepared for situations arising in the future. If only we had known about them then, our lives would have been made a lot easier to cope with.'

Paul King, of the Alzheimer's Society, will speak on the nature of dementia, particularly the initial stages of diagnosis. Local services and pathways to help will be described by Jenny Richards (joint strategic planning and commissioning manager for Older People's Mental Health Services at Devon County Council/NHS Devon).

Nick Burrow (clinical team leader for Mid Devon Older People's Mental Health Services) will explain care at the later stages of dementia, and Steve Milton (director of Innovations in Dementia, and an expert in dementia-care training) will speak on research and prevention, and new ways of treating dementia.

There will also be an introduction to the Alzheimer's Society Singing for the Brain scheme, which has been a particular success with dementia sufferers.

This free all-day event is happening on Thursday 7 July, from 9.30am to 4pm at the Tiverton Hotel, Great Western Way, Tiverton EX16 4DB. Tea and coffee will be provided, and an optional subsidised lunch is available for £5. Demand is expected to be high and booking by the end of June is essential. Book your free place by contacting Unite – Carers in Mid Devon, telephone 01884 257511, email [email protected]">[email protected] or by post with lunch payments to 2 Bridge Street, Tiverton EX16 5LY.

The Mid Devon event is part of the Alzheimer's Society Dementia Awareness Week (3–9 July). It has been organised jointly by the Crediton, Tiverton and Culm Valley branches of the Senior Council for Devon; Unite – Carers in Mid Devon; and Age Concern (Tiverton, Cullompton and District).