Keith explains what happened when he and others in the Three Nations Dementia Working Group were consulted about the new Alzheimer’s Society video.

This is Keith Oliver, sending in a recording from Canterbury following the horrendous and distasteful advert put out by The Alzheimer’s Society. This is what I’d like to record.
First of all I feel it is distasteful that the repost issued by the Society that it consulted with the 3 Nations. Whilst that is true, it does suggest that the group supported the film which is absolutely not the case. The group was unanimously opposed to it. This suggests deceit in my view, and that of others. I feel that the Society has lost it’s way, and will be badly damaged by the direction the film suggests it’s taking. It won’t encourage people to give more money with the suggestion “it’s out there.” It won’t make the lives of people with a diagnosis or family carers any better. It won’t improve diagnosis rates by encouraging more people struggling to come forward. It won’t motivate people to support the Society to provide better services for those affected now. I could say more, but what I’m going to do is to read you a poem at the weekend called “An Elegy For A Society I Cared About”.

We lived, you misbelieved
We laughed, you frowned
We considered, you rejected
We offered, you declined
We debated, you spoke to shadows
We moved, you stood still
We are the breadth, you are the narrow
We are authentic, you are opaque
We spoke, you heard
We spoke again, you failed to listen
We cried, you turned away
We died, then what did you do?

Thank you for listening, goodbye