Approximately 7,000 people in Cambridgeshire are living with dementia. For the families looking after them, knowing what the healthcare services can provide and what charities are out there can help take some of the stress out of life.
Age Space has compiled dementia services that are available in Cambridgeshire for you here, including NHS services and charities – such as The Alzheimers’ Society, who help co-ordinate many of the Dementia Friendly Community options in the area.
Age Space has also made a great, clear and downloadable guide to Caring for Someone with Dementia that can help you with every aspect in your care journey.
NHS Services for People with Dementia in Cambridgeshire
For an overview of how the NHS services are run in Cambridgeshire, take a look at our Elderly Care in Cambridgeshire page.
Memory Assessment Service
The Memory Assessment Service is run by the Older People’s Mental Health Team (OPMH) and operates out of five centres across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The OPMH’s purpose is to help those over the age of 65 with more complex Mental Health problems, including dementia. They can offer an assessment both in a clinic or at the home, depending on what is most suitable for your relative. To have access to this service, your elderly relative must have been referred by their GP. Where applicable this will result in a treatment plan following a diagnosis.
- Specialist Mental Health Nurses
- Psychiatrists
- Clinical Psychologists
- Occupational Therapists
- Mental Health Support Workers
You can get in touch with this service over the phone to find out more information, or take a look at the NHS’ website.
- Telephone: 0330 808 0765
- Visit Website
Crisis & Home Treatment Teams
This service, which also includes a Dementia Intensive Support Team (DIST) provides assessment and short-term intensive treatment (up to 6 weeks) for older people experiencing a major mental health concern, that may otherwise require a period of hospital admission. Their main goal is keeping hospital admissions to a minimum for those with dementia and integrating services to provide intensive treatment strategies in the home.
The Dementia Intensive Support Team offer a short-term pathway (up to 2 weeks), that has a holistic care approach for people experiencing severe behaviours and psychological symptoms of dementia.
The team comprises of a consultant psychiatrist, an advanced nurse practitioner, community psychiatric nurses and mental health support workers.
- Cambridge: 01223 726300
- Peterborough: 01733 776050
- Visit Website
Speech & Language Therapy Service
Cambridgeshire’s Speech and Language therapy service offers assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for adults with communication, fluency, voice or swallowing disorders that can often be associated with dementia. They provide this service on a level to suit their patients whether it be through an inpatient, outpatient or domiciliary basis.
In addition to the practical help for patients they also operate a telephone advice service and can offer support for carers. Anyone can be referred to the service by emailing them at [email protected] or find out more by calling 0330 726 0077.
The venues from which they operate this service from are:
- North Cambridgeshire Hospital, Wisbech
- Doddington Hospital, March
- Princess of Wales Hospital, Ely
- Brookfields Hospital, Cambridge
- Chesterton Medical Centre, Cambridge
- Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge
- Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon
- City Care Centre, Peterborough
- Peterborough City Hospital
Dementia Carers Support Service
The Dementia Carers’ Support Service (DCSS) provides support to family or informal carers of people with a diagnosis of dementia at particularly challenging times throughout their caring journey. Carers eligible for support from this service are then matched to volunteers who often have first-hand carer experience.
Assistance that can be expected from this service are:
- Emotional support
- Practical support
- Informational support
- Signposting to other services
- Opportunities for you and the person you care for to attend social events
You can find more information about this service through the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust website here.
- Telephone: 01480 420331
- Email: [email protected]
Local Charities Supporting People with Dementia in Cambridgeshire
In addition to the healthcare services available in Cambridgeshire, local charities can also provide information and advice to help with your caring role. Charities can support wellbeing and make life more enjoyable with events and activities like dancing, singing and more. Many of these kind of events can be found on our Dementia Friendly Cambridgeshire Page.
Alzheimer's Society
The Alzheimer’s Society is the main dementia charity in Cambridgeshire and works with local councils, the NHS and independent organisations to improve the lives of those living with dementia in the county.
They organise many of the memory cafés and community events in Cambridgeshire, in addition to having a Dementia Directory on their website. You can search for dementia services in Cambridgeshire, including home care, council supported living schemes, dementia-friendly care homes, day care centres and national dementia support services.
Pre-Assessment Memory Support
If you are experiencing problems that are affecting your daily life, such as forgetting people’s names, misplacing items, struggling to remember day-to-day events, or finding it hard to follow conversations, then the Alzheimer’s Society’s Pre-Assessment Team may be able to assist you. You will also be able to get help if you have already been referred to a Memory Assessment Service and are waiting for an appointment.
The team are able to provide practical advice and information on:
- Memory strategies
- Memory aids and tools
- Stay healthy
- Sign-posting to support services
You can contact them by telephone on 01223 620962 or by email with [email protected].
Dementia Connect Cambridgeshire
The Dementia Connect service is run by the Alzheimers’ Society and involves a helpline and email advice service to provide users with information about living with and caring for someone with dementia. There is a seperate service available for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, so please find the details of whichever is applicable to you below:
Cambridgeshire
- Telephone: 0333 150 3456
- Email: [email protected]
- Visit Website
Peterborough
- Telephone: 01733 865710
- Email: [email protected]
- Visit Website
Dementia Support Service
This service is for anyone living with a diagnosis of dementia and their carers. Their specially trained Dementia Advisers provide information and support to help you find ways to cope with the issues you face, as well as thinking about the future. To refer to the service, you can get in contact by telephone on 0333 150 3456, or through email on [email protected].
Intense Support
This is a specialist service for carers whose health is being impacted by caring, those who feel unable to carry on caring or those who have the person they care for in hospital. This unique service is designed to help people find strategies to cope. They can offer tailored, one-to-one support to meet your needs and a listening ear to enable you to talk frankly about the situation you are coping with. To access this service, you can call them on 01223 620962 or email [email protected].
Caring Together
This charity supports carers living in Cambridgeshire and works with Cambridgeshire County Council to provide information and support to carers throughout the county. They organise coffee mornings, support groups, advice sessions and more.
You can visit them at their St. Ives office or call them to find out more:
- Telephone - 0345 241 0954
- Email - [email protected]
- Visit Website
Making Space
Making Space is a national mental health charity. We’ve included it here, as they provide local services and often support pop-up dementia cafés and events throughout the year in Cambridgeshire. Search for Upcoming Events on their website.
Their Cambridgeshire Carer Support service can be there if you just need someone to talk through your concerns with or to get advice for caring for your relative. They can be found at their base in St. Neots or by contacting them through the details below:
- Telephone: 01480 211 006
- Email: [email protected]
Dementia Respite Provision, Walking in Your Shoes (Swaffham Prior)
The Dementia Respite Provision was developed to assist family carers who were finding it difficult to access respite, to offer the the opportunity for down time and a re-charge. It is run by a team with many years of experience in running community hubs and supporting vulnerable adults and has been made to be an engaging, stimulating and safe space so that the carer can feel confident that their loved one will be in a safe environment and have a meaningful day. The Provision runs with a fully qualified psychotherapist, who is also qualified to level 5 in Health and Social Care. Get in touch below for more details.
The maximum number of guests per day is six to keep a personal touch, so it’s advisable to make contact about a booking as far in advance as possible. It is £12.50 per hour and £60.00 for a full six hour, day booking.
- When? Every Thursday, 10:00am - 3:00pm
- Where? Swaffham Prior Village Hall, High Street, Swaffham, CB25 0LD
- Telephone: 07884 042590
- Contact Form
- Visit Website
The Bobby Scheme
The Bobby Scheme was set up by the Cambridgeshire Police Trust to help the most elderly and vulnerable members of their communities to feel safer at home by improving home security.
The service includes fitting door chains or alarms and advising on other security features. It is free to use for those over 60 years old who have been victims of burglary.
Although the service is free, they ask that people they support provide a small donation to help towards their running costs.
- Telephone: 01480 413 311 and 07866 602 100
- Email: [email protected]
