The Research:
The West Wales Regional Partnership Board (2024) estimates that there are 1,455 people living with dementia (PLWD) aged 65 and over in Ceredigion and projections unanimously predict significant increases over the coming years. Ceredigion’s elderly demographic also indicates that the proportion of PLWD in the county are significantly higher than in areas where there is a younger resident demographic.
This research will undertake a review of available literature to identify examples of best practice and undertake a scoping review of the services, support and organisations available within Ceredigion to support both PLWD and also their carers. This research will engage directly with a minimum of 20 individuals working to provide services within Ceredigion. Findings from this scoping review will be shared with at least 4 other organisations. The research will conclude with the presentation of recommendations and an action plan for implementation of improvements / initiatives where appropriate.
Ceredigion: The geographical and demographic landscape
The County Town of Ceredigion is Aberystwyth, which is the administrative capital of Ceredigion. Ceredigion also has five other principal Towns: Aberaeron, Cardigan, Lampeter, New Quay and Tregaron.
Ceredigion is the fourth largest principal area of Wales, as defined by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, by landmass at 1,783km2 * * https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/schedule/1 approximately 6% (28,188 acres or 114.072km2) of which is common land, characterised as:
• Unimproved dry acidic grassland
• Semi-improved acidic grassland
• Acidic marshy grassland
• Bracken
• Blanket bog
• Heath land
• Improved grassland (CCC, 2024)
The county also has 18 Town or Village greens registered, under the Commons Registration Act 1965 (Ceredigion County Council (CCC), 2024).
Ceredigion was designated a regional “Tourism growth area” in 2001 by the Wales Tourist Board, due in part to its wide range of natural geographic environments hosting 80 miles of the Welsh Coastal path, several mountainous regions including the Cambrian and Plynlimon mountains, and numerous Hillfort sites the most iconic of which is considered to be Pen Dinas in Aberystwyth (Driver, T. 2021, CCC., 2024). Ceredigion is also home to 8 castle sites and 4 county rivers: Aeron, Rheidol, Teifi and Ystwyth (CCC., 2024).
The West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre (WWBIC) calculates that a total of 195km2 (19,501 ha) of Ceredigion is registered under statutory protection this includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Special Areas for Conservation (SACs), Ramsar Sites, National Nature Reserves (NNRs), and Local Nature Reserves (LNRs) (Internal report not yet published, 2024)
The county also has several dark sky discovery sites along the Cambrian Mountain Astro Trail. (Discover Ceredigion, 2024)
The County is served by 40 Primary Schools, 7 Secondary Schools and 1 Further Education College located on two site: Aberystwyth and Cardigan. The Universities of Aberystwyth and Trinity Saint David are located within the County. (Ceredigion County Council, 2024)
Ceredigion has 1 District General Hospital: Bronglais in Aberystwyth, 1 Community Hospital based in
Tregaron* (correct as at time of writing), and 2 Integrated Care Centres in Aberaeron and Cardigan, all of which are managed by Hywel Dda University Health Board. The County also has two Centres for Independent Living based in Aberaeron (Penmorfa – publicly accessible) and Lampeter (Felinfach – not publicly accessible).
Census 2021 data – Office of National Statistics (ONS)
Ceredigion has a population of 71,500, with approximately 40 people per Km2 .
The average age of the population is 47.
- 13.10% of people in Ceredigion are aged under 15 years old, which is the lowest percentage compared to all the other local authorities in Wales
- 25.7% of Ceredigion’s population are aged 65+ which is a 5% increase since the 2011 census and 4.4% higher than the all-Wales average of 21.3%.
- 45.3% of the population have Welsh language skills.
- 80.8% of the population self-declare very good or good health with only 5.5% self-declaring bad or very bad health.
