East Cheshire Hospice is taking its dementia services out into the community, getting even closer to those who need help.
The Hospice has run dementia courses at its headquarters in Macclesfield since 2015.
It has now started operating weekly Dementia Carer Wellbeing Programmes in Wilmslow, Congleton, Knutsford and Poynton, as well as continuing on-site in Macclesfield.
This will make services more accessible to whole communities.
The expansion, which is part of a new five-year Hospice dementia initiative, is funded by Hospice supporters and a National Lottery grant.
Hospice professionals knew from experience there was increasing demand for dementia services in Cheshire East.
Debbie Kassas, the charity’s Specialist Dementia Nurse and Dementia Lead, said: “Our long-standing eight-week carers courses are very popular. We doubled capacity to six courses a year in 2021 and that helped initially but eventually the waiting lists increased again.
Debbie Kassas, Specialist Dementia Nurse and Dementia Lead at East Cheshire Hospice.
“When we reached capacity here on-site, we knew we’d have to do something entirely different.
“A long-term aim was always to have more presence around our community, as well as Macclesfield.
“The extra funding means we’ve now gone from six courses to 15, with three in each area per year meaning we can now offer these courses to over 300 people per year.
“People can self-refer and attend courses in any of our areas. Dementia awareness is improving, so more people are seeking support.
“There are still patches of the country which don’t have such courses, so Cheshire East does have a high level of dementia support compared to other areas.”
It means dementia patients can receive up to 16 weeks of support free of charge by their family member attending Hospice courses.
During the initial eight-week course, the carer receives advice on different educational subjects while in a separate room the patient has Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), including activities such as games and sounds.
Patients then have the option of a follow up eight-week course on maintenance CST.
The Hospice has expanded its team in response. Dementia Nurses Paul Dale and Laura Howard are assisted by Wellbeing Assistants Anita Hoskins and Sharon Birkinshaw with Sue Caulcott providing admin support.
Dementia Nurse Paul Dale offers advice.
Debbie said: “We’ve had a great response so far now that we’re out in the community. We want more people to be seen as soon as possible rather than be on a long waiting list.”
Call 01625 666990 or visit www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/dementia-support for more details.
Alzheimer’s Research UK estimates there are 982,000 people now living with dementia.
By 2040 this figure is expected to rise to 1.4 million in the UK alone.
Cheshire East has the fastest-growing ageing population in the north west.
The number of people aged over 50 living with dementia in the area is projected to almost double from 5,300 in 2009 to 9,100 in 2030.
In Cheshire East, 23 per cent of the population are over 65, compared to 19 per cent in the north west and 18 per cent in England.
There are now estimated to be more than 6,000 people living with dementia in this area.
