Befriending Support

A one-to-one befriending pathway for clients who are identified as being particularly isolated and housebound is available via our Community Team. Volunteers visit one week and call the next; input is provided in four month blocks and then reviewed, but can be continued.  An adapted Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale is utilised at the beginning of the input and revisited every four months to monitor client progress.

Dementia Development

On 1st August 2019, Staywell ceased providing the dementia development role that had been commissioned by Kingston Clinical Commissioning Group over the last three years. This role involved the recruitment of dementia friends, provision of dementia awareness training for a variety of local businesses and  individuals.  This was in addition to other development work to allow Kingston Borough to meet the requirements of 'working towards a dementia friendly community' status as part of the implementation of Kingston’s Dementia Strategy.

This important dementia support work will continue but will be provided by the Alzheimer’s Society going forward and will continue to build on the good work already undertaken by Staywell.  Staywell would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners for their support and commitment in creating a 'dementia friendly' borough where people with dementia can feel supported and respected as well as confident that they can contribute to community life.  Staywell continues to have an active role in the borough providing care and support to older people and their carers, including people with dementia, providing a range of targeted prevention and support services.

Our Dementia Development Coordinator qualified as a Dementia Champion and in the last three years delivered 131 Dementia Friends sessions, in turn creating 1,969 new Dementia Friends to add to the Borough total of 12,120.

Dementia Friends is a national initiative, with a target of creating four million Dementia Friends – people who have attended a 50-minute information session, and have committed to taking three actions to make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia; there are now two million UK Dementia friends. Participating in this training is now mandatory for all Staywell staff, and an initial target of 50% of volunteers.

These sessions have been delivered to all Kingston Council services, all four main libraries, all three leisure centres, Kingston’s Rose Theatre, Kingston Museum and the town centre management, ‘Kingston First’.

Our Coordinator has provided sessions with Kingston Police, including the older vulnerable persons’ team and mental health officers, Neighbourhood Watch and community police. Sessions have also been delivered at all fire stations, GP surgeries, some banks and building societies and businesses. Public sessions are held every month for anyone to attend. We have had a huge amount of positive feedback on this work.

‘Your training input has been really appreciated within Kingston police and all its officers. I personally have been approached by officers who have given great feedback after your training. One Police Officer has said it was the best course he had attended in his whole Police career!’
(Kingston Borough Mental Health Liaison Officer)

The initiative has been energetically promoted: the Coordinator has attended numerous networking events, such as Chamber Commerce and Omni breakfasts, and has presented to all the Conservative Councillors, The Mayor and Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, as well as ensuring the work is featured on many websites, in local magazine/newspaper articles and social network sites, and promoted through information stands at local events.

The National Dementia Action Alliance is an alliance of organisations across England to connect, share best practice and take action on dementia. Kingston’s Dementia Action Alliance (KDAA) was launched in May 2016, with five members: Staywell, Alzheimer’s society, Kingston Healthwatch, Kingston Older People’s Community Mental Health Team and care provider Home Instead. Membership has since increased to 41, including social care providers, government bodies, pharmacists and GPs, Kingston Hospital, businesses, charities and wellbeing organisations.

Staff and volunteer dementia training

Staywell provides regular dementia training to both its staff and volunteers, including Best Practice in Dementia Care, accredited by City & Guilds, the Royal College of Nursing and SCQF (Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework).

For more information about any of these services, please contact us.