Hub reaches out to sufferers and carers

Dr Penny Foulds and Matron for dementia at Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust Dianne Smith.Dr Penny Foulds and Matron for dementia at Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust Dianne Smith.
Dr Penny Foulds and Matron for dementia at Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust Dianne Smith.
The Bay Dementia Hub is gearing up for a third '¨meeting and anyone with dementia and their carers is invited to come along.

The hub, which meets on the first Friday of each month, between 1.30pm and 3.30pm at The Oak Centre at St John’s Hospice, is a a ‘one-stop shop’ for all support and information potentially needed by people with dementia, their families, carers and indeed others worried about their memory.

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DrPenny Foulds, who set up the hub working with Morecambe Bay Hospitals Trust Matron of Dementia Dianne Smith, said: “After an event where people affected by the condition told us what they wanted, and what services were lacking, we were told that access to social workers as well as the cost of respite care and care homes were big worries to people. If we can help people keep fit and healthy by treatment in the community, that is best for everybody. It’s a unique hub and as far as I can see, unique in the UK. There is such a wide range of support on offer including from the Alzheimer’s Society, lawyers for free legal advice, Age UK, and people who can advise carersabout health matters. That support is alongside a real thoroigh holistic mix, including aromatherapy.

“We want it to be a social occasion so carers are not on their own and it’s not going to feel awkward. Everyone understands and no-one is going to feel out of place.

“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the generosity of the hospice.”

Visit www.thebaydementiahub.org.