Following a successful pilot in Cambuslang, local charity LEAP is introducing new services in August for people in East Kilbride living with dementia and their carers.

The charity has been awarded funding for the services by South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s Integrated Care Fund for the next two years.

The charity hopes to run at least one of the events every week, with the coffee mornings happening every fourth Tuesday of the month, the music group every first and third Friday and the lunch club every second and fourth week, although this will be subject to finding suitable accommodation for the lunch club.

The coffee mornings will take place from 28 August in the Village Centre on Maxwell Drive, and the Music Group - Music for the Mind – will start on 16 August in the Healthy and Active Hub beside the Odeon Luxe. Dates for the lunch club will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Helen Jilks, LEAP’s dementia services development officer said: “We are extremely grateful to South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership for this opportunity to deliver much-needed and vital services to people living with dementia.

“We have already seen how much of a difference it makes to those people at our Cambuslang lunch club and we are really looking forward to helping people in East Kilbride.

“The coffee morning will be for everyone who cares to drop in, but both the music group and the lunch club will need people to book given the number of spaces available.”

All three events will include activities for people attending, including singing, exercise, puzzles, speakers, quizzes and wellbeing sessions.

Helen is hoping to have as many people as possible at all the events but is encouraging people to sign up quickly. She said: “At our Cambuslang lunch club, we filled all the spaces in the first week and now have a waiting list.

“We hope this won’t be the case in East Kilbride as people will have more options, but demand could be high.”

Caroline Fraser, one of the Cambuslang carers using the lunch club there added: “I would urge people in East Kilbride to join the clubs. The lunch club is a great idea for me and my husband Fred. He gets involved with the activities while I get some time to catch my breath and hear about things that might help us.

“It’s marvellous.”

As well as these dementia services, Helen is also running a new friendship group in Strathcona House sheltered housing, starting Monday, 17 June. Helen said: “We know that regular contact with others and keeping active could help delay the onset of dementia so this club will help older people in East Kilbride stay active in their community for longer.”

To find out more about LEAP’s dementia services in East Kilbride, phone 0141 641 5169, email Helen at dementia.services@leap-project.co.uk or visit www.leap-project.co.uk/dementia-services 

Full details of each of the East Kilbride services are:

Memory Lane Coffee Morning

Village Centre

12 Maxwell Drive

East Kilbride, G74 4HG

Starts 28 August then

Fourth Tuesday of the month, 10.30 am – 12.30 pm

All welcome

Music for the Mind

Healthy and Active Hub

200 Cornwall Street (beside Odeon Luxe)

East Kilbride, G74 1LL

Starts 16 August then

First and third Fridays of the month, 10.30 – 11.30 am

Booking required

East Kilbride Lunch Club

TBC

Waiting list open