The Droitwich Spa Meeting Centre supports people with dementia and carers to adjust to their changing situation. The Centre opened in September 2015, the first such Centre in the UK.
As one person in every 14 has dementia so it is extremely likely you will know someone close to you who is affected by and who would benefit from coming to the Centre.
The Meeting Centre is essentially a social club where members and their care partners can enjoy the company of others in a community setting where they can relax, have fun, talk to others and get the help they need by participating in a variety of activities that address their emotional, cognitive and social requirements. This helps them to adjust to their changing needs and re-build their confidence and reduce anxiety over the future.
The Droitwich Spa Meeting Centre is open each Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10.30am to 3.30pm at the Droitwich Rugby Club and is staffed by a dedicated team from Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Around 12- 15 members attend each day.
On 3 September 2019, the Centre was awarded a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK. This will help provide more certainty and stability for the Meeting Centre over the coming years.
Jeff Mayes, a former RAF Flight Lieutenant and member of the Centre, added: “I started to get dementia and everything went down from there, you feel as though you have got nothing left but this place has given me a purpose. You can join in with whatever’s going on and have a good time. The people at the Meeting Centre are so good, they are there to look after you but they keep the spirit going all the time. It’s a very happy place. I don’t know how I’d manage if I didn’t have this place to come to – it fills a big hole in my life.”
The Centre was set up as part of the European MeetingDem project (www.meetingdem.eu) led by the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester, with implementation support from the Alzheimer’s Society. This was developed based on a successful model of post diagnostic support for people with dementia and their family carers in the Netherlands. There are now 144 Dutch centres with a national infrastructure that local groups can utilise to bring on new centres.
Results from the MeetingDem project evaluation showed that people with dementia attending Meeting Centres in the UK, Poland and Italy were significantly healthier with better well-being and experienced an improvement in self-esteem, compared to those not attending the Centre and that family carers felt less lonely.
For more information please view various films here
Also, these PowerPoints – DSMC 2018 and DSMC 2019
and flyer – The UK Meeting Centre Support Programme – What is a Meeting Centre
Joining the Meeting Centre – new members welcome
If you or someone you know would like to come to the Centre, new members are very welcome. Further information can be found here
https://droitwichspameetingcentre.wordpress.com/joining-the-meeting-centre/
Details of the activities planned can be see here so why not come along for a free taster session
Here is a copy of the proposed programme of activities in DSMC November 19
To arrange a visit please contact Age UK Herefordshire & Worcestershire to arrange a convenient day/time.
Telephone: 0800 008 6077 / 01905 740950
Email: mcsp@ageukhw.org.uk
Supporting the Meeting Centre
Following the completion of the European MeetingDem project the Alzheimer’s Society funding for the provision of the service ended on 31 September 2017 and a new charity DROITWICH SPA MEETING CENTRE Registered Charity Number 1172997 was set up to take the service forward and secure funding needed to enable the Centre to continue to operate on a sustainable basis. If, therefore, you would like to support the Centre via:
- charitable donations, either now or in the future;
- sponsorship;
- any other support, such as mentoring and help with fundraising and establishing a robust group of Trustees.
please contact us by email us via https://droitwichspameetingcentre.wordpress.com/contact-us/
Please also pass this information onto others you think would be interested in this information and/or would be like to help with the fundraising, volunteering at the Centre or making a donation, which can be done via this link as having established this Centre here in Worcestershire, the first of its kind in the UK, it would be a great shame if this important facility is lost to the town of Droitwich Spa.
You can also support the Centre by shopping at AmazonSmile.
Mailing List
If you’re interested in the Meeting Centre and would like to subscribe to our email newsletter, please fill out your details below:
DROITWICH SPA MEETING CENTRE
Registered Charity Number 1172997
Droitwich Spa Meeting Centre 
Dear Sir,
I visited the centre well over a month ago. I also made contact by phone prior to that. I left my email address and hoped that some contact would have been sent to me giving me information of any activities you have been able to set up. I do not live in Droitwich but in the rural vicinity in Elmley Lovett & therefore do not find it easy to just pop in! Also we do not receive any free newspapers that are handed out in Droitwich. Do you have a web site which you use to publise your daily activities.
I would welcome any information.
Regards
Clare Maiden
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Dear Claire
Many thanks for your contact and apologies if I and others missed your previous contacts. The Centre is open 3 days each week from 10:00 to 16:00.To find out more and discuss what happens can I suggest you contact the Alzheimer’s Society who are managing/running the Centre – they can be contacted at Worcestershire@alzheimers.org.uk or telephone: 01905 621868
Hope that is helpful but please also feel free to also email on m.watts@worc.ac.uk
Many thanks
Mike
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