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Headlines 17 • The services that are available are often limited to medical solutions and disability support, rather than opportunities for meaningful connection, activity and stimulation. • Hospitals are struggling to treat people with dementia, and palliative care services are woefully inadequate. “It really reinforces the experiences of many of the whānau we see who are navigating dementia mate wareware,” says Catherine. Thankfully, the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan, which aligns with the World Health Organisation’s global action plan, provides a pathway forward to improve the lives of people living with dementia. Reducing dementia rates is the fundamental priority. Other priorities are better support for people with dementia and their families to live their best lives; building acceptance and reducing stigma; and strengthening leadership and capability across the sector. The plan was delivered to the Government in 2020, setting out the most urgent steps for the next five years, and what needs to happen over time. “The sector-wide action plan is a blueprint for managing the looming dementia mate wareware crisis. The better and longer we can support more people to live at home, with dignity, and not in expensive care, the better for them and for the system,” Catherine says. Dementia mate wareware According to Dr Makarena Dudley, a senior lecturer and Director of University Research at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, using Māori words to describe the condition is of huge significance when dealing with individuals and whānau affected by the disease. Mate (which means sick) and wareware (forgetful or forgotten) is free of the negativity, fear and stigma that Māori feel is associated with the Western term dementia. Read more at www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2022/09/13/ mate-wareware-power-of-te-reo-maori.html continued on next page... Catherine Hall, Alzheimers NZ