Willow Wood Hospice is located on Willow Wood Close and up until now its Dementia Café service was held twice a month from its day services lounge. Now it is switching to a weekly virtual café that will be available via the video conferencing app Zoom.
The café is usually attended by between 40 and 50 people who care for dementia sufferers and provides a vital break for them. Flyer printing services are often used to get the word out about projects like this, especially to older people who are not big internet users.
Speaking to In Your Area, Nic Lavery, a nurse specialising in dementia care who works at the hospice stated that carers were really missing the chance to get out and talk to people at the café since the pandemic hit, before adding:
“For some it could be their only social outlet and the chance to have a chat and a laugh over a coffee and a cake gave them some much needed relief and relaxation.”
She went on to say that they had been looking for a way to bring it back despite the virus restrictions and had settled on a virtual service using the Zoom app.