Dementia Web - Dementia Information Resource for Oxfordshire

DementiaWeb - Dementia Information Resource for Oxfordshire

Resources

Resources Introduction

The DementiaWeb site is arranged to make it easy to access dementia related information and services. This resources page draws together key contact information, and also includes links to some resources that are not found elsewhere on the site.

You may also use find our search page useful.

Dementia Books Online

You can also download a copy of Who cares? from the Department of Health website. This well researched NHS publication provides "information and support for the carers of people with dementia", and has been found to be very helpful by many carers. Unfortunately it seems to be quite frequently out of print, so although this is a large document to download having it available as an online resource is very useful.

Personal Life History Booklet

The Personal Life History Booklet (PDF, 255KB) is a wonderful resource, prepared by an Occupational Therapy Student, for Alzheimer's Australia.

"This booklet has been designed to collect the unique social and life history of an individual with dementia. This life history will help individualise the care of the person with dementia and maintain their identity. It will also help people caring for the individual to know them and develop strong relationships with them."

Interpreters and Translation

Oxfordshire Language Services (OLS) offers an interpretation service seven days a week, 24 hours a day in 30 different languages. There is a charge for this service.

Alzheimer's Disease International has an extremely helpful web page, of contact details and web links for Alzheimer associations in around 75 different countries around the world. This information is likely to be useful for people living with dementia in Oxfordshire whose first language is not English, and also useful for people who live locally, but have friends or family members living with dementia abroad.

Further information about local support for people from ethnic minorities is available on our local support page.

Resources for Children and Teenagers

A number of resources about dementia and/or caring, aimed specifically at children and teenagers are linked to from our children and young people page.

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Alzheimer's Society

The Alzheimer's Society is the UK's leading care and research charity for people with dementia, their families and carers. Becoming a member of the Alzheimer's Society is a great way to keep up to date with developments in the dementia field, and hear how other people manage living with dementia. Society Members regularly receive a free copy of the excellent "Living with Dementia" magazine through the post. The Alzheimer's Society offers free membership to carers and people with dementia: simply tick the box for this on the membership application form.

The Alzheimer's Society also produces a range of publications to enable care homes, and other providers, to promote good practice in dementia care.

Local branches provide services such as support workers who visit carers at home, support groups, and general information on dementia. Oxfordshire is covered by three local branches of the Alzheimer's Society:

Oxfordshire Branch
28 Crown Road
Wheatley
OXFORD
OX33 1UL

Tel: 01865 876508
Help Line: 01865 55646
Email: [email protected]

The Alzheimer's Society Oxfordshire Branch can provide information about which care homes in Oxfordshire are known to provide respite beds.

Abingdon & Vale of White Horse Branch
Abingdon Alzheimer's Club
Abingdon Community Hospital
Marcham Road
ABINGDON
OX14 1AG
Tel: 01235 205407
Mobile: 07833 952514

Email: abingdon&[email protected]

Support Worker: Sue Smith

Banbury and District Branch
Wardington House
Wardington
BANBURY
OX17 1SD
Tel: 01295 811144
Web: alzheimers.org.uk

Banbury and District Branch covers Banbury, Chipping Norton and the surrounding Oxfordshire villages.

Support Worker: Frances Claydon
Telephone: 01295 811144 (24 hr answer machine picked up by part time outreach worker)

Email: [email protected] 

For people with dementia and their carers. To provide information, advice, practical and emotional support to people with dementia and their carers in the Banbury area. This is done through email, telephone, one-to-one home visits and carers’ groups. Open referral system.

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Dementia Information Service for Carers (DISC)

The Dementia Information Service for Carers (DISC) is designed to assist individuals and organisations caring for older people with dementia.

DISC is a telephone helpline and can provide information on: dementia; locally available community services; options for residential care; what to look for in a care home; training resources; setting up relatives groups in a care home.

DISC is a telephone helpline currently available only through the Guideposts' Warwickshire office. We aim to revive DISC Oxfordshire very soon.

 

The Clive Project

The Clive Project was established in spring 1998 to develop and provide a range of integrated, specialist and flexible services for younger people with dementia and their families in Oxfordshire. Read Clive's Story on The Clive Project website.

People supported by The Clive Project include:

  • People under 65 years of age at referral with dementia: active individual support sessions, through The Clive Project One-to-One service.
  • Family and friends of people with the young onset of dementia: information and emotional support through individual and group sessions.
  • Anyone affected by young onset dementia: social events including club and cafe.

The Clive Project has an open referral policy, so anyone can make contact.

Contact details:

The Clive Project
PO Box 315
WITNEY
OX28 1ZN

Tel: 01993 776295

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Age Concern

Age Concern Oxfordshire City & County

Age Concern Oxfordshire is an independent local charity and, along with other local Age Concerns, is a member of the Age Concern Federation. Services are tailored to meet the needs of people over 50 in Oxfordshire, and include:

More details of these and other services provided can be found on the Age Concern Oxfordshire website.

Contact details:

Age Concern Oxfordshire City & County
St. Edmund House
39 West St Helen Street
ABINGDON
OX14 5BW

Tel: 01235 849400
Telephone Helpline: 01235 849400
10.00am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday
Answerphone at other times

Email: [email protected] 

Age Concern England

Information and factsheets are available on the Age Concern England website. Freephone information line 0800 00 99 66 (every day 7am-7pm)

Neurofeedback & Ageing Brains

Some limited research has suggested that neurofeedback training can improve some of the symptoms of dementia, even patients with Alzheimer's. A few studies have shown that patients who had neurofeedback training and treatment had improved cognitive performance.

SPECAL

SPECAL (Specialised Early Care for Alzheimer's) is a person-centred dementia care charity undertaking ground-breaking work with older people who have dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

SPECAL helps clients to live contentedly by associating their long-term memories with their current experience.

SPECAL also works with the carers, families and friends of people who have dementia, and professionals working in the field of dementia who have an interest in the SPECAL approach.

Contact details:

SPECAL (Specialized Early Care for Alzheimer's)
The Old Hospital
Sheep Street
BURFORD
OX18 4LS

Tel: 01993 822129
Fax: 01993 822846

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Social and Community Services

Social & Community Services is the new name for Social and Health Care (S&HC) in Oxfordshire (also formerly known as Social Services).

Information about the services provided by Social & Community Services can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council Website, or you can download the information leaflet Guide to Services for Older People (PDF format, 499KB).

The Access to Information Services Team in Oxfordshire

This Team handles all initial enquiries, and requests for Social & Community Services assessment, for adults over the age of 18. Anyone can make a referral to the Access to Information Service Team: this does not have to be done by a professional.

Access to Information Services Team
Tel: 0845 050 7666
Open:8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Thursday
8.30am to 4.00pm, Friday

There are three Adult Assessment Teams in Oxfordshire, who take referrals on from the Access to Information Service. They provide Assessment, care planning and review over a two month period, following initial contact.

 

Oxford City Adult Assessment Team
Knights Court
21 Between Towns Road
Cowley
OXFORD
OX4 3LX
Tel:01865 323401

South and Vale Adult Assessment Team
Oxfordshire County Council Social & Community Services
5 Foxcombe Court
Wyndyke Furlong
ABINGDON
OX14 1DZ

Tel: 01235 549219 or 549220

Cherwell and West Adult Assessment Team
Calthorpe House
Calthorpe Street
BANBURY
OX16 5RE

Tel: 01295 252421
Fax: 01295 258330

Open:
8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Thursday
8.30am to 4.00pm, Friday

If need is urgent (e.g. there is serious threat to personal safety), a care manager or social worker will normally visit within 24 hours. Otherwise assessment should be completed within four weeks.

Anyone who is unsure of which team to contact should contact the customer services unit, on 01865 375515.

Emergency Duty Team

The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) provides a countywide emergency out-of-hours and weekend contact for Oxfordshire Social & Community Services on 0800 833408.

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NHS Direct

If you are unsure about whether something needs medical attention, or would like general health advice, you may find it useful to visit the NHS Direct website.

The NHS Direct website is part of the National Health Service, and aims to provide high quality health information and advice.

If you are feeling unwell you can telephone NHS Direct on 0845 4647 for individual advice and information, given by nurses, 24 hours a day.

Oxfordshire Carers Centres

A variety of support is available to carers through the Oxfordshire Carers Centres. The Carers Centres support people who are caring for people with all different sorts of disabilities. Support includes:

  • Support Workers
  • Young Carers Projects
  • Help with Form Filling
  • Training Courses
  • Respite Funds

More information about Carers Centre services can be found on the Carers in Oxfordshire website: www.oxoncarers.org.uk

There are three Carers Centres in Oxfordshire:

North and West Oxfordshire Carers Centre
27 Horsefair
BANBURY
OX16 0AE

Telephone helpline: 01295 264545 Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri 9am to 5pm 

Email: [email protected]
Web: www.oxoncarers.org.uk (North & West Oxfordshire)

Oxford Carers Centre
174a Cowley Road
OXFORD
OX4 1UE

Tel: 01865 205192
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.oxoncarers.org.uk (Oxford)

South and Vale Carers Centre
3-5 Lydalls Road
DIDCOT
OX11 7HX

Tel: 01235 510212
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.svcarers.org.uk (South & Vale)

Public Services

Two key websites should provide Oxfordshire residents with most of the information they require relating to public services:

Direct.gov.uk is a national government web site providing comprehensive information on public services, (including benefits).

Oxfordshire.gov.uk provides key information and contact details for services throughout Oxfordshire.

Voluntary Organisations

Voluntary organisations - this Alzheimer's Society factsheet is an extremely helpful list of many different national organisations who can provide all kinds of support and help; it includes links to their websites.

Developments and resources in Oxfordshire

Eating and drinking

A checklist of recommendations for designing dementia-friendly outdoor environments

DeNDRoN Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network

http://www.dendron.org.uk/rn/thames_valley.html

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In Berkshire, Geoff Brenan and Lynne Renals O’Kane are leading a project which focuses on developing Life Story work in their unit and are using the Collaborative Methodology to monitor, support and evidence this work. This evolved as a result of the service user feedback project that Geoff undertook for all of the service users on the ward.

In Oxford, Elaine and David representing Age Concern and the Oxford and Bucks mental health trust are in the early stages of project team development. The team are developing information that can be provided to service users and carers at the point of diagnosis and at their three month follow up. Sarah and David have met with a group of carers in Bicester who have agreed to act as a reference group for the project and to engage in a process mapping exercise.

 

Last updated: 14th Aug 2023

 

DementiaWeb.org.uk : funded and managed by Guideposts with support from the Big Lottery Fund