Home from home for people with dementia
A summer holiday home in Topsham for people living with dementia is to offer a specialist activity club over the winter months.
With recent news that the number of people with dementia could triple by 2050, there is an ever more pressing need for facilities that offer support.
Sallie Rutledge opened The Mede four years’ ago to enable carers and their loved ones to have holidays, after her own father in law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Although at full occupation in the summer months, the bungalow lies dormant through the cold season.
Sallie, a qualified nurse who works part time as a practice nurse in a local health centre, said: “The Mede seemed an ideal place for a day centre. All too often, people living with dementia don’t leave their own homes because that is the easier option – but of course this can lead to them feeling isolated and lonely.
“As The Mede is already set up as holiday accommodation, it has a home from home feel which immediately makes visitors less anxious about being out of their comfort zone. It’s extremely practical and very welcoming.”
Although there is no cure for memory loss, deterioration can be slowed down through the use of trusted methods, and sessions will include activities that stimulate memory, such as word and number games, current affairs and creative sessions. In addition, visitors to the Mede activity club will be encouraged to get out and about.
“We hope to go for walks on nice days – and there’s an area in the garden which will make a perfect space for growing flowers and vegetables,” said Sallie, who will be working as a volunteer at some of the sessions.
The activity club at The Mede, which is not far from Exeter, will be run by not-for-profit organisation Memory Matters South West. Director Kate Smith explained the thinking behind the new centre: “There’s a lack for facilities for people when they first learn they have dementia, which is exactly the time that activity and stimulation is required. Day centres like this allow them to meet with others in the same position, which gives reassurance and mutual support.”
Memory Matters South West already runs activity clubs in Lostwithiel and Wadebridge, with another to open soon in Bodmin.
“It looks increasingly possible that numbers of council-run day centres may face closure for one reason or another, so there is a real need for independently run centres to fill the gap,” added Kate.
The Mede activity centre will open its doors as soon as enough people have signed up for the first few sessions. Memory Matters South West is offering a reduced rate of £14 for the first three sessions to the first five clients, after which a session costs from £28. Sessions run from 10am to 4pm.
For more information please contact Kate Smith on 07813 886706 or kate@memorymatterssw.co.uk
