Dementia care
At Heart of Kent Hospice we have a multi-skilled team who provide community support services for patients and their families with dementia. All our services are free.
Our hospice is a specialist palliative care charity and we focus on patients with dementia in their last year of life.
Our multi-skilled community services team work with Dementia patients deemed to be in the last year of their life and support the individuals:
- Advance Care Planning
- Symptom Control and
- End of Life Care
If you’re worried that you or a member of your family has symptoms of dementia, or if you have been diagnosed with dementia, or are supporting a friend or family member with dementia - there are specialist support services that can help you.
To find out more about our services, please get in touch with Hospice Community Service on 01622 792200 or by emailing THO.ClinicalAdminHoKH@nhs.net.
We're here to help
Our hospice community services provide care and support for people and their families affected by all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. We can help with advance care planning, symptom control and when the time comes end of life care. We help patients and their families to live well with dementia in the last year of life.
We help families manage complex needs and deliver our care and support considering the needs and wishes of the person living with dementia and the people around them. Through developing a care plan, regular assessments and discussion we help patients and their families to understand and manage change, enabling everyone to live well.
Please scroll further down this page to read more about our individual dementia services as well as information about other local services which may be helpful to you.
How can I be referred?
Following a diagnosis of dementia your GP, health or social care professional can make a referral to local services to help develop a care plan.
People living with dementia in their last year of life and their carers can make a self-referral by calling our Community Services team on 01622 792200.
You can also refer yourself or a loved one using our referral form by clicking the link below. We will then make contact with you and any healthcare professionals involved in your care.
Make a referralHow we can help with end-stage dementia
Discussing end-of-life wishes with family members and the care team can be difficult and emotional. But it is important for end-of-life wishes to be shared. A patient’s end-of-life wishes should include how they would like to experience care in the final stage of their illness. Our Hospice services, also known as palliative care, focus on bringing comfort, self-respect, and peace to the final stage of life in an environment of the patient’s choosing – whether in the Hospice, in their own homes or care home. It’s their choice.
As a team we aim to ensure that symptoms and pain are controlled and that goals of care are discussed and honoured. We work together to address physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our patients as well as being there to support family.
The Dementia Team gave us such a better understanding of our mum’s diagnosis; what to expect and how best to look after her. Their ongoing support and advice is invaluable.
Alzheimer's and Dementia Support Services (ADSS) Dementia Café
ADSS Dementia Café takes place on the first Saturday of the month in the Hospice from 10.30am to 12.30pm.
It is open to everyone. You do not need to be a patient of Heart of Kent Hospice to come along. This Hub service is also available to family members coping with the challenges of dementia and those who might not have been diagnosed yet.
There is no need to book or pre-register, just turn up.
ADSS's team of dementia trained volunteers will welcome you to the Hospice with free tea, coffee and biscuits. ADSS will be available to provide support, information and advice. There is also the opportunity for a person with dementia to speak with other people with a diagnosis for peer support and likewise for carers to gain peer support also.
You can find out more information by contacting ADSS on 0800 035 2221 or by submitting a contact form.
Inpatient Unit Dementia care
Our 10 inpatient rooms can be converted into a dementia friendly environment with our bespoke dementia kits. The kits include signage for the rooms and ensuite bathrooms, clocks displaying the time, day, month and year, and alarm equipment so colleagues are alerted if someone leaves their bed or room. In addition, all colleagues and volunteers on our Inpatient Unit are trained specifically in caring for people with dementia.
A Kent dementia helpline
The helpline is there to offer support and advice for people living with dementia and their family or carers wherever you live in Kent. You can call with any questions, for example if you have concerns over medication or symptoms, if you need advice, are wondering what other support services might be available to you locally, or if you just need a friendly listening ear.
0800 500 3014
Call between 9:00am – 5:00pm, Monday – Friday to speak to a member of our Dementia Team.
It’s free to call from mobile phones as well as landlines.
Out of the core hours, you can leave a message and ask for a call back, or your call can be transferred to Mental Health Matters.
Local Dementia services
We've put together a list of other local services in Kent which may be able to offer you support.
We have split the listings by type which include activities, advice and support, dementia cafes, support for carers, day services, helplines, outreach support and support for young onset dementia.
Local dementia services
Working to become Dementia Friendly
Heart of Kent Hospice are proud to announce that all of our Hospice colleagues have undertaken Dementia training irrespective of their role being clinical or non-clinical. We take seriously our pledges of improving dementia knowledge to enable people living with dementia to live well in our community. This has earnt us accreditation as part of the Working to become Dementia Friendly scheme.
David and Karen's Story
When Karen was diagnosed with early-onset dementia our specialist Dementia Team were able to provide advice and support to both Karen and her husband David. In this video David shares their story. He explains how he learnt more about the work of the Hospice, the essential support he received as a carer, and how with this support their family were able to have one special last Christmas together.