Dementia Support Services

Dementia Advisory Service 9378 1258 The purpose of the dementia advisory service is to raise awareness of dementia in the community. They also provide support to dementia service networks in the inner west and support family and carers within the Ashfield, Burwood, Canterbury, Canada Bay, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Strathfield LGA’s.

Other Dementia Advisory Service activities include: Dementia cafes (Marrickville, Concord, and Bicentennial Park); Dementia Carers’ groups at Haberfield and Canterbury; information sessions in different areas and languages; family carer education sessions at Concord; and, projects such as carers’ break and carer education days.

Case example: A gentleman with dementia, aged 75, with no insight, still driving and lives with his wife who is not coping very well. The Dementia advisory service put the gentleman in contact with a referral information centre, invited him to the KoKoda Café and carers group, linked him with a dementia support service, referred him to the Uniting Care respite cottage for overnight respite and provided his wife with strategies for coping with her husband’s behavior.

National Dementia Helpline: 1800 100 500

The National Dementia helpline is a telephone information and support service available across Australia. The helpline provides understanding and support for people with dementia, their family and carers. They also provide practical information and advice, up to date written material about dementia, information about other services and details of the full range of services provided by Alzheimer’s Australia.

Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre 1800 052 222 Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centers are information centers for older people, people with disabilities and those who provide care and services. Centers provide information on support services Australia wide.

Commonwealth respite and Carelink centres provide a single point of contact for the general public, service providers, GPs and other health professionals for information on community, aged and disability services and Carer support. The centres can also assist with information about costs for services, assessment processes and eligibility criteria. The centres can also help arrange respite, when carers need to take a break from caring.

Refer to CSGPN dementia webpage for current dementia services and resources.