New day club supports family carers in Ipswich

Company news

Jul 23, 2014

A free event held recently in Ipswich has helped give family carers a better understanding of dementia when caring for their loved one.

The event, hosted by Care UK at their new Asterbury Club on Aster Road in Ipswich, was one of many taking place at eleven Care UK care homes and day clubs run in partnership with the multi-award winning social enterprise, Dementia Adventure.

Neil Mapes, director at Dementia Adventure, said: “We work with people living with dementia and we provide training to professional carers, but what we have found is that there needs to be more support and advice for the families. That is why we started running these ‘Understanding Dementia’ events, to give family carers  more insight into what dementia is and how it affects their loved ones, as well as practical tips on how to break down communication barriers.”

Dementia Adventure provides experiences such as nature walks, boat trips and holidays to help people living with dementia to connect with the outdoors. Neil Mapes, who has an extensive background in clinical psychology and dementia advocacy, shared his knowledge and experience of the condition over two free ‘Understanding Dementia’ sessions at Care UK’s new Asterbury Club on Thursday 17th July, with over forty people attending in total.

The Asterbury Club, which is adjacent to the new state-of-the-art Asterbury Place care home, offers flexible day and respite care services to help older people living in their own homes locally to maintain their independence, enjoy meeting up with friends and keeping up with their favourite hobbies.

Lisa Sheppard, manager at Care UK’s Asterbury Club, said: “The event was really well received, with feedback forms indicating that attendees loved the venue, the information from Neil was really helpful and user-friendly, and they would happily attend a similar event at the Club in the future. This is a great success for our first event here.

“Neil spoke during the event about family carers needing a circle of support, which is exactly what Care UK’s fantastic new facilities are for. We hope to host many more informative events for the Ipswich community, alongside providing specialist care and support at flexible times that best suit you and your relative’s needs.

“Whether it’s helping your relative with the laundry or baking a cake, or just giving you a bit of time to relax or do the shopping, we hope the Asterbury Club will become a familiar and valuable part of your circle of support.”

For more information about the Asterbury Club and its upcoming events, or to book a free taster day session at the Club call 0333 321 1990 or visit www.careuk.com/asterbury-club. For more information about Dementia Adventure visit www.dementiaadventure.co.uk

Care UK also has a free ‘Listen, Talk, Connect’ guide full of useful tips and advice for family carers. Visit www.careuk.com/talkdementia to download your free copy, or pick one up at the Asterbury Club.

Photo caption: Neil Mapes, director at Dementia Adventure, outside Care UK’s new Asterbury Club in Ipswich