Council support for people with dementia

We help people with dementia, and older people with other mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, to find support. We want to help people stay in their home for as long as possible and keep their independence.

To talk to us about getting support, contact Adult Social Care as a first step.

When you contact us, we'll have a conversation about the best support for you. We will talk about your strengths and things you can do independently. This is called a 'strengths based approach'. We will also talk about how family, carers or community can help.

We might also look at whether you are eligible for care and support from the council. This is called a care and support needs assessment.
 

Our West Berkshire Directory lists local support for someone with Dementia (use the filters to narrow down what you might be looking for). You can also read the Public Health Team's information about dementia.

How we can help

We can help by offering:

• expertise, knowledge and experience
   
• information, advice and connecting you with other services
   
• routine reviews to make sure that care arrangements are still meeting your needs and are of an acceptable quality
   
• legal expertise and advice, and where appropriate, mental capacity assessments and best interest assessments
   
• working closely with Berkshire Healthcare Mental Health Services, based at West Berkshire Community hospital, which has a well-established memory clinic
   
• help at home to support people with personal care and essential daily living
   
• supporting carers to enable them to continue in their role - we recognise the value of providing carers with good support
   
• helping you find a range of specialist services such as the Alzheimers Society and Age UK
   
• looking at whether you are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare
   
• specialist occupational therapists who can provide equipment and technology, to keep you living as independently as possible
   
• a reablement service to help people come home from hospital safely and quickly
   
• dementia-specific residential and nursing care and extra care housing
   
• safeguarding for adults at risk - we work with other agencies to prevent abuse of adults at risk and investigate any concerns

If you do get care and support from the council, we will offer you a financial assessment. This assessment will help you to understand how you will pay for your care.

We can also offer advice when someone lacks the capacity to manage their affairs and finances.