Notes from the Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells DFC Meeting

Held on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at

Southborough Town Hall, 137 London Road, Southborough, TN4 0NA

 

Attendance: Chris Parker (CP) – Chair; Lindsey Nathan (LN) Bespoke Care Company; Sophie Marsh (SM) Community Warden Pembury; James Lark (JaL) TMBC; Jill Lark (JiL); Kath Ireland (KI) Crossroads; Katie Hancock (KH) Cooper Burnett; Lorna Blackmore (LB); Bridget Maya (BM) Blossom Home Care; Madre Naude (MN) Blossom Homecare; Christina Warren (CW) ADSS; Geoff Dunnett (GD) All About Home Care; Marion Piner (MP)

 

Apologies:  David Barrett, Emma Andrews, Tamzin Freeman

                                                                                                                             

Welcome

(CP) welcomed all who attended and thanked them for joining the meeting.

  

Finance/Treasurer’s Report

(CP) has received an up-to-date copy of the accounts for Tonbridge and Tonbridge Wells DFC, copy attached.

The £5,000 grant received from the Kent Community Foundation (£15,000 spread over 3 three years) of which half  has been used to help fund the Moving to Music event held at Tonbridge Baptist Church for local residents, which is well supported.  The other half went towards outings to Hastings with a fish and chip lunch, and a trip on the Spa Valley Railway again with lunch included, of which both were very much enjoyed by everybody.  The men in particular were invited to look inside the engine room.  One of the ladies was more interested in joining the carriage behind where a group of children were dressed as pirates!!  Those who attended  both events included those living with dementia and their carers, together with volunteers.

The website has been updated at a cost of £1,800 which was discounted by the web designer from £3,000.

(CP) purchased ten Alzheimer’s thank you cards for £6 for use to thank people for donations etc.

 

St George’s Day Concert for Dementia – Saturday 26 April 2025

The St George’s Day concert is planned for Saturday 26 April 2025.  At the moment the time for the concert is proposed for 7pm but it was suggested that afternoon may be better providing the choirs have time to practice, and the Church being available.  An afternoon concert may be better for those not willing to go out in the evenings.

Details to be discussed regarding volunteers etc at the next meeting on Monday, 13 January 2025.

 

Website

The new website is now up and running.  (CP) has uploaded the latest Newsletter together with other information.

 

Cafés

·     Tonbridge café doing well with new people attending but with some clients having passed away or gone into care homes so the café is not really getting any bigger.  There are usually around 20/25 attendees at the sessions.  There are two carers who still attend even though their partners have either passed away or are in a home.  Many friendships have developed at the cafes.

 

·     No news from Showfields but all seems to be ticking over. Sarah, who runs the café for us is keen to increase numbers. CP has produced a flyer which Sarah will circulate locally. Several of the meeting attendees took some to share in different places.

·     No news from Julie Rhodes who runs the Forget-me-not-Café but it seems to be well attended, especially as the Farmers Market has now moved into St John’s Church Centre.  (CP) to contact (JR) for an update.

·     The Musical Memories Choir are holding their second concert this year on Saturday, 14 December 2024, at the Tonbridge Methodist Church, supported by Tonbridge Lions.

 

Virtual Dementia Tour 2025

The £1,000 raised by (LN) for her 3-Peaks Challenge is greatly appreciated and it was agreed this money will be used to provide a Virtual Tour Bus in Southborough. (KI) to make enquiries with regard to siting the bus in the Southborough Market early next year, with possibly a shorter tour so that more people can be accommodated without a prior appointment.  A briefing room/de-briefing room to be available probably in the Council Offices or a stand in the market place.  A date being suggested at the moment is during Dementia Action Week/Saturday 17 May 2025.  (KI) to look at the necessary permissions and placing advertisements for the event in local media publications, together with the Southborough Forum.

 

ADSS Report

(CW)  reported that ADSS have received three awards at the Kent Charity Awards; Kent Charity of the Year, Kent Disability Charity of the Year and Kent Trustee of the Year. CP said this was well deserved and we congratulated ADSS on their success.

ADSS  receive around 83 referrals every month, with less during August as is usual.  Recently there  were 70 referrals in Tunbridge Wells and 38 in Tonbridge.  Three co-ordinators, Sue Kibbey, Jemima Clarke, and Alice Birch carried out 30 home visits in Tunbridge Wells and 22 home visits in Tonbridge, with a waiting time of around 10 weeks.

GPs are referring people directly to ADSS, who are giving support to people pre-diagnosis.  There is at the moment a 9-12 month waiting list for memory clinic.

ADSS are setting up more pre-diagnosis clinics, living well, cognitive clinics for people being missed by the system.

There was to be a merger of the local memory clinics but that has now been delayed until next year.

ADSS provide a drop-in service at the Paddock Wood Community Centre for residents in the Tunbridge Wells/Tonbridge area together with villages around the Weald on the last Friday of every month from 2pm until 4pm.  Two co-ordinators attend together with solicitors etc to give advice.

(CW) reported that Bryony Deniz will be leaving ADSS next week, so they are actively recruiting.

 

Dementia Showcase & Dementia Awards – May 2025

Now to be called the Living Well with Dementia Show to be held on Monday, 21 October 2024, at the Valley Park School, with no charge for admittance.  (CP) said that the plan is that all local DFC’s take part with just one table making it less confusing for visitors.  (CP) will be attending.

Judging papers were due to be returned by the first week in September, which (CP) duly did for Tonbridge.

 

Dementia Friendly Business programme – WTBDF

·     (CP) provided a dementia awareness session for the staff at Waitrose in Paddock Wood.

AOB

·     (CP) asked if there is anybody willing to act as Deputy Chair, eventually becoming Chair in the future.

·     (SP) reported that there is to be an information day run by the Kent Police Community Liaison Officer on Thursday, 17 October 2024, at the Camden Centre between 10am and 2pm.  Crossroads, ADSS, Age UK, Kent Fire service will be attending to give information.  (CP) not available to attend, but (LN) will be there who suggested another information day be organised later for the more rural areas and one aimed at younger people.

·     (LN) is hosting an information session at the Pembury Community Centre on the 3 January 2025 as well as visiting schools, probably for Years 7 & 8 students.  (BM) is hoping to attend the session in January 2025.

·     (GD) would like a DFC session for his staff. (KH) would like to sit in. CP agreed to run the session.

·     (CP) reported that Alzheimers are not providing training any more for DF ambassadors and so we are training our own to run ‘Undersatnding dementia’ sessions.

·     (LN) suggested badges to give out at events would be a good way of advertising, especially as we will not be able to use the DF badges provide by Alxheimers.  CP said that she only used them when she is delivering a DF session on behalf of the Alzheimers society. (JaL) will investigate.  Badges could have the sunflower and forget-me-not logos with the words “I’m dementia friendly”.

·     (KH) reported that Age UK have a “life book” and Alzheimers had a “this is me” book which may be useful for those living with dementia.  (JiL) will look into producing mugs at the Hadlow Pottery with the dementia logo etc on them.

·     (GD) reported that there will be a Memory Walk starting at Haysden Country Park car park on Saturday, 21 September 2024.

·     (LN)’s children will be doing a 5k walk around Knole Park to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society in memory of their great grandmother

 

The 2025 quarterly meetings will be held at Southborough Civic Centre, at 1pm, on:

Monday, 13 January 2025

Monday, 14 April 2025

Monday, 14 July 2025

Monday, 13 October 2025

Date of next meeting:  Monday, 13 January 2025 at the Southborough Civic Centre 137 London Road, Southborough, TN4 0NA, at 1.00pm

Please note all meeting times are 1pm and not 1.30pm.

Meeting ended at 2.35pm