FORGET-ME-NOT CAFÉ

According to NHS England, it is estimated that almost 900,000 people in the UK now suffer with dementia. Here in East Suffolk it’s good to know there is support locally for sufferers and carers ...

Sue West, who worked as a nurse for 40 years - the last 15 years of which she was a senior lecturer in nursing - is no stranger to dementia.

She says she experienced it first hand, in varying degrees, with her late father and her mother-in-law.

It was in 2018, when she was on the Patient Participatory Group (PPG) of her local doctor’s surgery, that she met Avtar Athwall and together they came up with the idea to set up the Dementia Café in Kesgrave.

Renaming it Forget-Me-Not Café after it reopened following the lockdowns, it now hosts around 30 people who meet every Wednesday at the Bowls Pavilion adjacent to Kesgrave Community Centre on Twelve Acre Approach. For the price of a cuppa, visitors can also enjoy cakes, biscuits and scones as well as get involved in a host of activities including arts and crafts.

Recently they helped the local scouts to paint poppies. They even have a resident ‘pat dog’ who is a calming influence on clients.

Sue, who tirelessly runs other elderly groups locally, says many of the volunteers who help out at the café are retired nurses though they are always on the lookout for more helpers.

She claims it’s been such a valuable support for local dementia sufferers, offering a bit of light relief, and they have seen significant improvements among those who attend. “Some who had stopped talking at home have come along - the men particularly enjoy playing dominoes - and within a matter of weeks are talking and you can see they are enjoying themselves”, she says. “It’s important to reach out and let people know we are here”. l Forget-Me-Not Café is open on Wednesdays, 9.30am-12.30pm. l If you can help in any way, or you know someone who might like to attend, call or email Sue on, 01473 624044 or, peter.west@ic24.net or email Avtar on, avtar.athwall@btinternet.com

As the population ages and people live for longer, dementia has become one of the most important health and care challenges facing our community. It’s thanks to the kindness and hard work of people like Sue and Avtar that there is support out there. The café is also a sanctuary for those who are lonely or feel isolated, and Sue says if they can attract more volunteers and any much-needed funding, they might be able to further extend its offering and opening hours.

By Carl Stickley