Dementia Support FAQs

St John’s Dementia Support is a new service which supports those living with dementia, their families and carers to live well with dementia, whilst supporting them to access the advice and information about services that are available. Our Admiral Nurses work closely with families and carers and the person living with dementia, providing a lifeline when times may become difficult or challenging and practical solutions.

St John’s Dementia Support is managed by St John’s Winchester who employs the team. The team is made up of a Manager, two Admiral Nurses and a Dementia Support Worker (Community).

We are working in partnership with Dementia UK who provide support and clinical guidance for our two Admiral Nurses.

The service is not a Home Care service registered to provide ongoing, long-term care and support. However, the team can support families and carers with advice and support about how to safely care for someone living with dementia, and how best to manage the symptoms and treatment of dementia.

Dementia UK is a specialist dementia nurse charity. For more information on Dementia UK, please visit their website.

St John’s Admiral Nurses are qualified nurses with a professional specialism in dementia.

An Admiral Nurse does not provide nursing care in the same way as a District Nurse or an NHS Nurse. The Admiral Nurses work closely with other health and social care services and professionals, sharing best practice and using their expertise knowledge experience to best meet the needs of families and carers and those they care for to avoid a crisis.

St John’s Dementia Support is for any family member, carer or person living with dementia who is over the age of 55 and living within the Winchester District and surrounding areas.

Only one of you needs to be over the age of 55 to be eligible. However, if you are both under the age of 55 and you are caring for someone with early onset dementia, the team can support you to access the correct service and support by signposting you to other suitable providers. You can also call the Admiral Nurse free Helpline on 0800 888 6678.

St John’s Dementia Support is free at the point of contact. There is no charge for the service.

If you would like to make a referral, please complete the enquiry form on our website. Please note that once we have received your enquiry form, we will require you to fill out a detailed referral form so we can find out more information and the support required. If you would like to talk to the team directly to discuss the service and what support you may need, you can call us on 01962 858 282 or alternatively, please email dementiasupport@stjohnswinchester.co.uk.  

You can also download a copy of the enquiry form, complete and send it to us. Please address it to: Dementia Support, St John’s Winchester, 32 St John’s South, The Broadway, Winchester, SO23 9LN.

Our Hand in Hand team will also pass on any referrals, with your consent. Information about our Hand in Hand service can be found on our website.

Our operating hours of service are Monday – Friday, 08:30-16:30 (excluding Bank Holidays). The service will try to be flexible to meet the needs of carers, including the provision of early morning or evening visits, where agreed in advance.

St John’s Dementia Support is not an emergency service. For all emergencies, please contact 111 or for out of hours support, you can call The Admiral Nurse Helpline for free on 0800 888 6678.

St John’s Dementia Support works with families and carers for as long as the service is needed. The team complete an assessment agreeing what support you need and what you want to achieve. This is different for everyone and is outlined in your person-centred wellbeing or care plan. The team will cease the support when you, the carer or the person living with dementia no longer wants or needs the service. This outcome can be due to many reasons and may be because we have met the assessed outcomes which we agreed in your plan, and it is therefore no longer a role for an Admiral Nurse or a Support Officer. If the service is ceased but you find in the future you require support again, you can re-refer into the service and the team will contact you again.