Stonehenge
A new dementia adviser service is being launched in Wiltshire to coincide with dementia awareness week (May 19 – 25).
Funded by Wiltshire Council and the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, the service will be available to people with dementia and their carers.
It will provide personalised information and guidance, and give people a named adviser to support them along their journey with dementia. Users of the service will be able to meet their adviser wherever they choose, including their own home. The adviser will keep in regular contact with them, offering six monthly meetings. Alzheimer’s Support will be delivering the service in west and east Wiltshire, with the Alzheimer’s Society providing the service in north and south Wiltshire.
Maggie Rae, corporate director for Wiltshire Council, said:” This service will make sure people with dementia get the right information and support at the right time. We recognise some people may find health and social care services difficult to navigate and may wait until they reach crisis point before seeking information. The aim of the new service is to make sure people are supported from the point of diagnosis so they can live well with dementia.”
Dr Steve Rowlands, chair of the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group says: “This is one of a number of new initiatives which we have developed with our colleagues at the council, many of which are focussed on increasing the rate of early diagnosis of dementia. This particular project takes this a step further and ensures that those who have been diagnosed, and their carers, are provided with local, dedicated and expert help to access the advice and on-going support which they will need.”
People who want to contact their local dementia adviser should call 01225 776481 if they live in west and east Wiltshire or 01722 326236 if they live in north and south Wiltshire.
In addition, Wiltshire Council is launching a new collection of dementia books, available in libraries. The aim of the collection is to provide a range of information about dementia and how to support people to live well. The books will be available in Chippenham, Devizes, Trowbridge and Salisbury libraries, and will be available to users of other libraries through the normal loan process. For more information people should contact their local library.
