New Pocklington centre 'beacon' for young-onset dementia

A £1.2m facility is being developed by Dementia Forward at its Lavender Fields Care Village

People with young-onset dementia are set to benefit from a new centre of excellence in Yorkshire. 

A £1.2m facility is being developed by Dementia Forward at Lavender Fields Care Village, near Pocklington. 

Dementia is described as young onset when symptoms develop before the age of 65 and it is estimated there are about 70,000 affected people in the UK.

The charity hoped the centre would become a "beacon" to provide support and train care providers.

Jill Quinn, chief executive of the charity, said: "If you went around care homes generally, or social workers, and asked them about young-onset dementia the knowledge is very low.  

"The key to that is good training" she said.

"We want to offer specific training so that people really get it."

It is the latest phase of Dementia Forward's U&ME campaign, which was launched in October 2022 to improve access to age-appropriate care. 

In March 2023, the charity helped Wellburn Care Homes open a bespoke facility near York for younger people with dementia. 

The Manor at St Catherine's provides 11 beds in a traditional home-like setting. 

Matt Thickett Ward said his father's condition had improved since moving to a bespoke care home near York

Mark Thickett, 63, was diagnosed with the condition when he was 54 and moved in last November. 

His son, Matt Thickett Ward, said:  "Sending him to a place where everybody was physically infirmed or bedbound and 30 years older than him would have felt unfair. 

"He came here and not only has it removed an entire weight of stress off my chest, it's improved him so much."

Dementia Forward said the new centre of excellence would help create more age-appropriate care settings.

A date for the centre to open has yet to be fixed.