'Pioneering' dementia advice centre launches in Newcastle

A pioneering dementia-specific advice centre has opened in Newcastle.

The new centre, in Brunswick Village, will ensure effective, coordinated, community-based support for people who have been diagnosed with dementia in the North East.

Designed to provide support and information services for people living with dementia, their families, friends and carers, the centre is the result of a campaign led by North East specialist dementia charity, Dementia Matters.

The specialist provider has partnered with fellow North East charity, Newcastle Carers and sourced funding from The Ballinger Charitable Trust and the Lloyds Bank Foundation, to get the project up and running with additional support from local authorities and the NHS.

Dr Fraser Quin, chief executive at Dementia Matters, said: “One of the issues raised regularly by people with dementia and their families is that there is no effective, co-ordinated support available to them post-diagnosis.

“As a result, they either fail to access the advice and support that they really need, or they feel like they are passed between various different support groups, where they need to repeatedly explain their story.

“Mirroring the format of a dementia hub which was established in Stockton-on-Tees in 2015, Dementia Advice Centre Newcastle is the first Centre of its kind on Tyneside, providing advice and support to people living with dementia, their carers and families.

“We hope that the service will be of great benefit to people and that its success will help to shape the future of dementia care across the region for years to come.”

Based at the Outer West Community Service Centre, Dementia Advice Centre Newcastle is open Monday to Friday for people to access a range of dementia specific services.

These include information about day care and respite services, to specialist clinical assistance from the dedicated on-site Admiral Nurse.

As the two core partners in the venture, Dementia Matters and Newcastle Carers will provide complementary services, with Dementia Matters’ team of specialists providing support for people with a dementia diagnosis and their families.

Newcastle Carers focus primarily on providing dedicated information, advice and support to carers around their role, entitlements and keeping themselves well.

Cabinet member for health and social care, Coun Karen Kilgour, added: “The Dementia Advice Centre is an exciting development and will play a key role in achieving our ambition to make Newcastle a great place to live well with dementia.”