Dementia Services

What is dementia?

Dementia is a term used to describe a collection of diseases that damage our neurons, which are the nerve cells in our brains.

With dementia, more and more damage to our nerve cells occurs. This damage affects our behaviour and our thinking abilities.

Below are a list of areas that can change over a number of months when someone experiences dementia:

Memory
Language
Visio-spatial skills
Thinking and problem solving abilities
Numerical skills
Visual perception
Changes in personality.

Anybody can get dementia but age is the biggest risk factor. It is more commonly found as people get older.

You can find out more about dementia services in Kent and Medway by visiting the Kent DementiaWeb.

Memory clinics

We provide a number of Memory Clinics across Kent and Medway for people who are worried about problems with memory and other abilities, and want to find out the cause. In general they consist of a small group of people, including a doctor and psychologist.

The team will find out more about a person's mental and physical health by carrying out a brief physical examination. Sometimes, before a diagnosis can be given, the team will want to refer the person for a brain scan or further medical tests.

What happens after the assessment?

After the assessment, if the tests results suggest the person may have dementia, the Memory Clinic team will talk to them about treatments which may be available, counselling education and support and services available to people with dementia and their families.

The team will also provide written information about the condition and services available.

You can find out more about Memory Clinics in the following leaflet:

pdf icon What happens in the Memory Clinic?

Download the Memory Assessment Service Model:

pdf icon Memory Assessment Service Model

Admiral Nursing

Admiral Nurses are specialist mental health nurses trained and developed by the charity Dementia UK, who provide care for people with dementia and help improve the experiences of all those affected by the illness, including their families and carers.

We provide the services of specialist nurses across Kent and Medway. To contact an Admiral Nurse in your area, please use the area links on this page under 'Contact a Memory Clinic'

Home Treatment Service (Dementia)

The Home Treatment Service (Dementia) provides enhanced support and treatment for people with dementia and their carers, usually lasting up to three months.

The aim of the service is to maintain the quality of life for people during periods of transition, preventing crises and/or managing change. This is achieved by providing a period of assessment and intervention for up to a period of 12 weeks, working alongside existing mental health and social care services

There are six Home Treatment Service Teams across East Kent, complementing the local Community Mental Health Teams for Older People (CMHTOP). The Home Treatment teams are multi-disciplinary and included mental health nurses, occupational therapists and psychology and support workers. The teams operate during normal office working hours between 8.30am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Referrals to the service will come from within our secondary mental health services.

Further information can be found in the leaflets on this page.

The six teams are located at the following locations:

Dover/Deal Service
Coleman House
Dover, CT16 2AH
Tel: 01304 216680

Thanet Service
The Beacon
Manston Road
Ramsgate, CT12 6NT
Tel: 01843 854200

Canterbury Service
Gregory House
St Martins Hospital
Canterbury, CT1 1TD
Tel: 01227 812180

Swale
Southlands Assessment Centre
Rook Lane
Sittingbourne, ME9 8DZ
Tel: 01795 845010

Shepway
Broadmeadow Registered Care Centre
Park Farm Road
Folkstone
CT19 5DN
Tel: 01303 852660

Ashford
Community Mental Health Team for Older People
Arundel Unit
William Harvey Hospital
Ashford, TN24 0LZ
Tel: 01233 616627

Contact a Memory Clinic

Memory Clinics are based within Community Mental Health Teams for Older People. Please use the links below to contact a Team in your area and find out more: