A BEFRIENDING service for people with dementia is being set up in Overton.

Doctor Nicola Decker, a GP at Oakley and Overton Partnership, is launching the scheme which will see local volunteers linked with people in the practice catchment area who have dementia so they can share their interests and activities such as gardening, reading or cooking.

The venture will be officially launched at a meeting hosted by Overton U3A on January 26 at 2pm in St Mary’s Hall, Overton.

It follows a seminar last November when Dr Decker spoke about dementia with Jenny Allcot, team leader from the Dementia Friendly Communities project.

More than 100 people attended the meeting, after which there was a brainstorming session on how volunteers could help dementia patients.

Dr Decker said: “When a person with dementia finds that their mental abilities are declining, they often feel vulnerable and in need of reassurance and support.

“The people closest to them – including their carers, friends and family – need to do everything they can to help the person to retain their sense of identity and feelings of self-worth.”

The Oakley and Overton Partnership has already taken steps to become dementia friendly.

Dr Decker explained: “It’s about changing the culture of care and thinking differently about patients with dementia and their carers.

“It’s about offering our care in a more compassionate and thoughtful manner to this group of vulnerable patients. We involve their carers and are much more proactive than before.”

There are more than 100 dementia patients in the practice area, whose needs are often presented as medical problems, but are often related to loneliness, isolation and boredom.

There are already groups in Overton providing group activities such as lunch clubs, but Dr Decker’s proposal is different in that it joins volunteers up with an individual person and their need.

Dr Decker was awarded a three-year NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) Dementia Fellow-ship to improve the quality of dementia care in north Hampshire.

She is also clinical lead for dementia at the North Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

She said: “Our practice is the first dementia friendly surgery in the south of England. Now we aim to widen this initiative to being part of a dementia friendly village.

“I want to harness the energy and support of local volunteers to enable people to live well with dementia.”