The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) is honoured to announce that Chris and Jayne Roberts are its new ambassadors.
Chris and Jayne are committed to educating others about dementia, drawing on their particular experiences. Jayne’s mother has a diagnosis of dementia and, in his early 50s, Chris also has a diagnosis of mixed dementia, vascular damage and Alzheimer’s.
The couple, who are from Ruddlan, North Wales, give regular talks on what it’s like to live with dementia and have featured in prominent television programmes, including BBC Panorama. They were keynote speakers at the NACC Training & Development Forum 2016 where they spoke candidly about their experience and the fact that care homes and care provision are not appropriate for Chris’ age group.
Chris and Jayne have become NACC ambassadors alongside Dr Lisa Wilson, Registered Public Health Nutritionist, specialising in nutrition and older people. Lisa has been a NACC ambassador since 2012.
Neel Radia, national chair of the NACC, says: “We’re delighted and honoured that Chris and Jayne have agreed to be ambassadors of the NACC. The couple are inspirational and their keynote speech was a highlight of our last Training & Development Forum. Their knowledge will be invaluable to us in understanding further how to cater for people with dementia, and their connections will also be most beneficial in helping us develop and share best practice and guidance in this area.”
Chris Roberts says: “We are very pleased to become ambassadors for the National Association of Care Catering. Nutrition is so important for everyone, especially for people living with dementia. The colours, taste, texture and ease to swallow improve their quality of life and health. It's fantastic that this association works very hard to achieve and continue to improve on the provision of the right food for the very people that need it. We, on behalf of those that can't always speak out, thank them for helping to improve our lives.”
Chris and Jayne are Dementia Friends champions, ambassadors for the Alzheimer’s Society, champions for Join Dementia Research, and members of the Dementia Policy Think Tank for DEEP. They also contribute to many working and advisory groups for dementia related networks, including the Prime Minister’s Task and Finish Group for the 2020 dementia challenge, and are members of the European Working Group for People with Dementia.
