Charity Dementia UK is launching free face-to-face Closer to Home clinics, in partnership with Leeds Building Society.

The clinics will be held in different Leeds Building Society branch locations over the coming months, bringing emotional and practical support to those impacted by dementia through the charity’s specialist dementia nurses, known as Admiral Nurses.   

The national tour of face-to-face clinics will offer a safe, comfortable and private space for families, carers and friends to discuss any aspect of dementia and receive the specialist support of Admiral Nurses.   

In April 2020, Dementia UK and Leeds Building Society announced a four-year partnership to raise £500,000 to help over 2,500 families living with dementia across the UK. The Closer to Home project launched in June 2021 as part of this partnership, to improve access to dementia care and support. 

Between June 2021 and November 2022, more than 3,200 families have been helped through Closer to Home virtual clinics, held over the phone or video call. The face-to-face clinics will allow more families to access the services. 

Paul Edwards, director of clinical services at Dementia UK, said:  “We are extremely proud of our Closer to Home clinics and have received wonderful feedback from families with dementia who have been supported by our Admiral Nurses virtually. Community services have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of funding has meant that families have come to rely on alternative means of support.  With dementia being a huge and growing health crisis and an estimated 944,000 people currently living with the condition in the UK, reaching more families has never been more urgent.”

Richard Fearon, chief executive of Leeds Building Society, said: “We believe everyone who needs the support of a specialist dementia nurse should get one in a safe and secure environment, and we are glad to be able to offer space in our network of branches across the UK to allow this.”