The mayor of Bury St Edmunds, Cllr Diane Hind, has officially opened a new dementia café at St Peter’s House Care Home. The dementia café, which will run from 10:30 – 12:00 on the last Thursday of every month, is becoming a permanent feature in the town due to high local demand following a successful pilot earlier in the year.
The monthly café is a drop-in session for anyone living with dementia and their carers and families. Visitors are given a warm and friendly welcome and have the opportunity to talk to others with similar experiences as well as to discuss any questions they have with a dementia expert. The café will provide a chance to find out more about the disease, seek additional help if needed and to make new friends.
St Peter’s House is a 62-bed dementia-specialist home and residents living in the home will be there to chat over a cup of tea and some cake with their guests. People who attended the official opening of the dementia café said they enjoyed the relaxed and positive atmosphere.
Cllr Diane Hind, mayor of Bury St Edmunds, said:
“It was a pleasure to attend the official opening of St Peter’s House’s dementia café. We all know the importance of social connection to our physical and mental wellbeing and the café provides a great opportunity for people to get together and socialise. The opening was lively and well-attended, and the café will clearly be a valuable asset to the local community.”
Babs Draper, care home manager at St Peter’s House said:
“We are really looking forward to welcoming people to our dementia café. We know that it can be very isolating living with and caring for someone with dementia and the café is here for people to meet, seek support and make social connections. We will have a dementia expert on hand for those that have any questions, but we understand that others are just seeking a chat and some company – we are here for everyone.”
The number of people living with dementia in the UK is increasing because people are living longer. It is estimated that by 2030 the number of people living with dementia in the UK will exceed 1 million .