People were invited to experience the daily realities faced by people living with dementia on a bus that parked up in Kentish Town.

Training 2 Care's mobile "dementia bus" stopped outside the Bluebird Care Camden & Hampstead office in Fortess Road on October 5.

The bus is sponsored by Bluebird Care and has toured the United Kingdom this year.

Ham & High: Pictured from left Nikki Morris CEO of Age UK Camden with Bluebird Care staff George Morris director, Karen Rides registered care manager and Nathan Hartley next to the Bluebird Care dementia bus outside the company's Fortess Road basePictured from left Nikki Morris CEO of Age UK Camden with Bluebird Care staff George Morris director, Karen Rides registered care manager and Nathan Hartley next to the Bluebird Care dementia bus outside the company's Fortess Road base (Image: POLLY HANCOCK)

Camden’s deputy mayor Cllr Nazma Rahman, Kentish Town North's Cllr James Slater and the chief executive of Age UK Camden Nikki Morris were among 35 people invited to try it out.

The unit offers participants the chance to experience what dementia might be like by replicating the symptoms and challenges faced by someone with the condition.

The training method helps care professionals understand how they can improve the care they deliver to better support those living with dementia.

Participants wear thick mittens to impair their ability to perform tasks or hold items, wear headphones and glasses with altered lenses to impair their vision and make them feel disorientated, and navigate dark rooms with coloured lights to add to the disorientation and overall frustration.

Participants wear spiked insoles in their shoes to cause a pins and needles sensation – a common symptom of dementia.

The training is undertaken annually and has been endorsed by numerous NHS Trusts, care and nursing homes, police forces, ambulance services, universities, councils, and the Care Quality Commission.

George Morris, director at Bluebird Care Camden and Hampstead, said: "I would strongly recommend anyone who is supporting someone living with dementia to try and attend this experience as it was incredibly insightful.

"It was great to have so many people from our local community join a large number of our team to interact, learn and share throughout the day."

Ham & High: From left Nikki Morris CEO of Age UK Camden, George Morris director of Bluebird Care Camden & Hampstead, Karen Rides registered care manager Bluebird Care Camden, Nathan Hartley from Bluebird Care.From left Nikki Morris CEO of Age UK Camden, George Morris director of Bluebird Care Camden & Hampstead, Karen Rides registered care manager Bluebird Care Camden, Nathan Hartley from Bluebird Care. (Image: POLLY HANCOCK)

Glenn Knight, chief executive of Training 2 Care, said: “Training 2 Care are constantly pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved through experiential training and our nine Mobile Virtual Dementia Simulators are a powerful portal to this.

“Having the support of an amazing organisation such as Bluebird Care by sponsoring the latest bus will help us reach an even larger proportion of the UK and vitally develop skills and understanding for the people that support people with dementia daily."