April 3

Wiltshire charity Alzheimer’s Support has welcomed a new staff team as it extends its services after winning a key contract from Wiltshire Council and NHS Wiltshire.

From this month, the charity will cover the whole of Wiltshire. Dementia Advisers, a Support at Home service and activities such as Singing for the Brain and memory cafes will be provided throughout the county by the Trowbridge-based organisation which has taken on 23 staff previously employed by the national Alzheimer’s Society in Chippenham and Salisbury. 

The charity held a ‘get to know you’ morning for its new staff team at Devizes Rugby club on the first day of the new contract.

Reaching more people

Support at Home Care Co-ordinator for South Wiltshire, Amanda Smith, who previously worked for Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We are all looking forward to coming across to Alzheimer’s Support.  I came away from the first meeting feeling very uplifted about the future. For our clients it will not make too much difference. The same people will be going in to support them.  It just means we will be able to reach so many more people as the service expands.”

Dr Peter Jenkins, Chair of Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group which awarded the contract jointly with Wiltshire Council, said: "We are delighted to be working with Alzheimer's Support, which is unrivalled in terms of its expertise and experience in the field of dementia. This will build upon the good work that Alzheimer's Support is already providing in Wiltshire."

Babs Harris, CEO of Alzheimer's Support said: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to extend our services across the whole of Wiltshire.  This is very good news for people affected by dementia in Wiltshire. We are looking forward to getting to know our new staff members and of course the people we will be supporting.

"Since our charity started in 1990 we have taken pride in supporting people living with dementia and their families with flexible, practical and greatly-valued services. We now look forward to working with communities across the county to extend these and to ensure a smooth transition."