An action plan is being put in place by the region's ambulance service as part of its plan to become the UK's first dementia friendly trust.

Bosses have been working with the Alzheimer's Society and have signed up to the region's Dementia Action Alliance as part of their new dementia strategy.

Members of the alliance are now required make a pledge to take action and improve their services for people with dementia.

Chiefs have committed to offering dementia awareness training to all staff and developing dementia-friendly environments.

They are also pledging to appoint a dementia lead and hope to provide a strong voice for people affected by dementia by seeking and acting on feedback.

Mental health lead Duncan Moore said: 'We recognise dementia is becoming more common in the patients we respond to, this affects not only the patient but families and carers as well.

'We recognise that we need to expand our training and education with patient facing staff, to support people living with dementia going forward.'