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Tyne & Wear Care Home Opens New Dementia Café

Four Seasons’ Howdon Care Centre will be opening its doors to the local community on 20th March for the launch of its new dementia café, The Tyne Teas Pitstop.

Guests at the launch will include Ray Laidlaw, the drummer from the British folk rock band, Lindisfarne, and Tommy Mulvenna, the Chair of the North Tyneside Council. Amanda Cunningham, Managing Director for Four Seasons in the North East, will be delivering the opening speech.

Open every day, the café will provide a comfortable and relaxing environment in which residents and visitors can sit with their loved ones and enjoy tea and light refreshments. It has been decorated to reflect the history of the area to reinforce the home’s connection with the local community and help trigger positive memories.

The café will also be a place where residents and their families can learn more about dementia. Members of the home’s staff who are experienced in dementia care, together with representatives from Alzheimer’s Society and Age UK will be on-hand to provide information and there will also be books for children to learn more about dementia.

In addition, the café will hold two open days each month to offer advice and support for people from the local community who may be moving into the care home and their relatives.

It is estimated that there are some 2,735 on people living in North Tyneside with dementia and 800,000 people across the UK. This number is projected to grow by up to 40% within the next 15 years.

Ruth Todd, Home Manager, said “Our dementia café will give residents the opportunity to spend quality time with their families in a calm setting, which will help to enhance their wellbeing. It will also provide a space in which people can learn more about dementia and receive any support or advice that they might need.”

Hunter Hall & Swan Lodge Care Home have joined together as Howdon Care Centre in order to provide a wide range of services, including specialised dementia care, residential care and palliative care. This means that as people’s care needs change, the well-trained and experienced team will be able to continue to care for them without needing to find a new home. Based in the locality of Howdon, the name change reflects the centre’s alignment to its place in the local community.