Funding renewed for borough's dementia cafes

Rotherham's dementia cafes are set to continue their work after the council said it would launch a competitive grant process worth at least £97,000 to keep the service going.

The cafes operate at a number of venues across the borough, supporting people living with dementia and offering one-to-one support for carers.

Rotherham Council said a "key objective" of the cafes was to "support unpaid carers" and avoid carer fatigue and breakdown.

Helena Muller, from Lost Chord, a charity that regularly takes musicians into the dementia cafes, said it was "tremendous" the council planned to continue the service as "they are reaching out to the community and trying to reduce isolation. It's incredible".

According to Drew Hallsmith, from the Alzheimer's Society (Sheffield and Rotherham), the borough has "one of the best diagnosis rates in the country".

However, he said that meant demand for services was high, with about 230 recent referrals to the council-funded dementia cafes, up by 160 in the last year.

The well-established network of dementia cafes runs in Brampton Bierlow, Brinsworth, Dalton, Maltby, Thurcroft, Whiston and Swinton.

The cafes see people meeting together and sharing in joint activities such as arts and crafts, music, singing and dancing.

Feedback from a survey in June and July this year into the cafes was "overwhelmingly positive", according to a Rotherham Council report.

A grant of £97,485 per year for three years is expected to be advertised this month, with a provider expected to be appointed in October ahead of the current agreement ending on 31 March next year.

Hallsmith said though he welcomed the renewed funding for dementia cafes in Rotherham, they would have their limitations.

He said he was hopeful this could be an opportunity to take a "more creative" approach to dementia support services, to consider the needs of younger groups and those from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

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