Many of the people we support are living with dementia or memory loss, and their families often tell us the hardest part was not knowing where to start. This guide brings together the local help we point families to, from diagnosis to the cafés and groups that keep people connected.
Getting a diagnosis
Start with the GP. They will check for other causes, such as an infection or a medication side effect, and can refer your parent to the local memory service.
In Dorset that is Dorset HealthCare’s Memory Assessment Service. In Somerset it is the Dementia Assessment and Support Service at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust; the South Somerset team is on 01935 443600, Monday to Friday. In Wiltshire, the GP refers to the memory service run by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership.
A diagnosis can feel daunting, but it opens the door to treatment, advice and support, and gives the family time to plan together.
Dementia advisers near you
Each county has a free service that helps people and families before, during and after a diagnosis, and the Alzheimer’s Society runs a national support line.
Dementia Coordinator Service (Help & Care)
Dorset. Advice before, during and after diagnosis; you can refer yourself. Weekdays 9am to 5pm
Dementia Support Somerset (Alzheimer’s Society)
Somerset. Weekdays 9am to 5pm
Beyond Dementia
Wiltshire’s dementia charity, formerly Alzheimer’s Support, with dementia advisers
Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Support Line
National. Monday to Wednesday 9am to 8pm, Thursday and Friday 9am to 5pm, weekends 10am to 4pm
Memory cafés and singing groups
Memory cafés are relaxed, friendly sessions for people living with memory loss and the people who care for them. Times can change, so it is worth checking before you go.
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Mindful Memory Café, Gillingham
Quizzes, games and singing on alternate Tuesdays, 10am to 12pm, at Gillingham Social Club on Hardings Lane. Our carers already take clients here.
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Life is for Living, Sturminster Newton
A memory café at Stour Connect, Stour View Close, on Wednesdays from 2pm to 4pm.
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Sing a Song of Praise, Gillingham
Dementia-friendly singing on the first Thursday of the month, 2:30pm to 4pm, at The Malthouse care home on Bay Road.
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Sherborne Memory Café and Singing for the Brain
Both at Digby Hall, Hound Street, from 10:30am to 12pm: the café on the second and fourth Mondays, and Singing for the Brain on the first and third Thursdays.
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Bruton Memory Café
At the Community Hall on the second and fourth Wednesdays, 10:30am to 12:30pm, with singing on the fourth Wednesday.
- Mindful Memory Café, Gillingham (opens in a new tab)
- What’s on, Friends of Stour Connect (opens in a new tab)
- Sing a Song of Praise, St Mary the Virgin, Gillingham (opens in a new tab)
- Memory Café Sherborne, Alzheimer’s Society (opens in a new tab)
- Singing for the Brain Sherborne, Alzheimer’s Society (opens in a new tab)
- Bruton Memory Café report, Bruton Town Council (May 2026) (opens in a new tab)
Practical steps worth taking early
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Lasting Power of Attorney
Lets someone your parent trusts make decisions for them later. It must be made while they still have the capacity to decide, so it is worth doing soon after a diagnosis. Registering costs £92.
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The Herbert Protocol
A form with a recent photo, medicines and places your parent might go, used by police if they go missing. Dorset Police and Wiltshire Police use the Herbert Protocol; in Somerset, Avon and Somerset Police run an online Dementia Safeguarding Scheme.
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Attendance Allowance
£76.70 or £114.60 a week for people over State Pension age who need help or supervision. It is not means-tested.
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Council Tax
Someone with a severe mental impairment, which can include dementia, may be disregarded for Council Tax, with a GP certificate and a qualifying benefit.
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Blue Badge
People who struggle severely to plan or follow a journey can qualify, even without a physical disability. The council decides.
- Lasting Power of Attorney, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)
- Schemes to support people who go missing, Alzheimer’s Society (opens in a new tab)
- Dementia Safeguarding Scheme, Avon and Somerset Police (opens in a new tab)
- Attendance Allowance, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)
- Council Tax discounts for disabled people, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)
- Can I get a Blue Badge?, GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)
Support for you
Caring for a parent with dementia is tiring, and it can go on for years. You can ask the council for a free carer’s assessment of your own, and each county has a service just for family carers.
Dorset Carer Service (Help & Care)
Free support for unpaid carers, weekdays 9:30am to 4:30pm
Somerset Carers Service
Free advice line for unpaid carers, run by Thrive
Carers Together Wiltshire
Support and carer’s assessments for unpaid carers
How Aurora can help
Familiar faces and a steady routine matter more than ever when someone is living with dementia. We keep the same small team around each person, cook proper meals, help around the house and take people out to the cafés, groups and walks they enjoy.
Carers pass on anything they notice to Kirsty, a registered nurse, who suggests who the family should speak to. Aurora doesn’t currently provide personal care.
