Former carer plans dementia hub to help families

Tony Hall founded the Bristol Dementia Action Alliance after his wife Barbara died in 2022

A man who spent 20 years caring for his wife has plans to open a dementia hub to help other families.

Tony Hall, who set up the Bristol Dementia Action Alliance (BDAA) in 2013 after his wife died with the condition, hopes to open a central hub in Lawrence Weston.

It will provide a range of services including legal and medical advice.

"We want people to be able to go along for help, whether they need social services, or they need to speak to a legal person about power of attorney," he said.

Mr Hall's wife Barbara had dementia and he spent two decades caring for her before her death in 2022.

"I looked after her for all those years and it's not easy. You'd be deprived of sleep; she used to wake me up five or six times a night, but you just get on with it," he said.

Lisa Dicker runs the weekly Memory Café in Shirehampton

Mr Hall said the new service "depends on money and people" and he is now looking to recruit a manager.

"We need three or four volunteers to start with, but as it grows, obviously we'll need more and people have been very kind and generous to us," he said.

The BDAA already runs four regular Happy Days Memory Cafés in Westbury-on-Trym, Shirehampton, Avonmouth and Sea Mills, where people with dementia can meet for a drink and organised activities.

"It's rewarding, you just feel uplifted yourself," said community development manager Lisa Dicker, who leads the café in Shirehampton.

"It can be equally sad at times, but I know if I've got one of the cafés coming up, I'm going to have a lovely time and it's just wonderful to see everyone so happy and walk away with a smile on their face."

The memory cafés include a range of activities and attractions for people to enjoy

Wendy Smith regularly attends the Shirehampton café with her husband Tony who has dementia.

"It's the company I enjoy," she said.

"Just coming out, and it's a chance for the carers to chat together, and to compare notes as to whether you're coping or not."

"For Tony, this is where he meets other people. He wouldn't go out on his own, so this is his opportunity to come out of the four walls at home.

"There's no pressure to do anything, it's entirely what you're happy doing."

Wendy comes to the café every week with her husband Tony who has dementia

The BDAA started in 2012 with the aim of making Bristol "the most dementia-friendly city in the UK".

Staff and volunteers work with other charities, including the Alzheimer's Society, to raise awareness of the condition and remove some of the public misconceptions.

"We realised there was a lot of ignorance about dementia and how it affects people. It's not just memory problems, it can present itself in lots of other ways as well," Mr Hall said.

"It's been recognised that younger people get dementia as well; we've been dealing with people in their 30s and 40s and support for them and their families used to be non-existent, but things are improving."

Mr Hall said the "memory cafes are really important".

"I learned more there than anywhere. But we have ambitious plans for this year to set up the pilot hub in Ambition House in Lawrence Weston.

"We know it works, we just want to try it in Bristol, then we can really go for it and do it across other parts of the city, building awareness of dementia."