CONCERN has been raised about the future of a unique meeting centre in Leominster for people with dementia and their carers.

The Meeting Centre opened on February 1 last year as a joint-project between the Alzheimer’s Society, Herefordshire Council and the University of Worcester’s Association of Dementia Studies department.

It was the second of its type to open in England and based on a Dutch model of care, offering support both for carers and people with dementia in the form of personalised support, activities and services alongside monthly information sessions.

But the Alzheimer’s Society has confirmed the future of the centre is uncertain as there is no long-term statutory funding.

There are now hopes that funds or an alternative provider can be found to ensure the survival of the centre – with a possible closure otherwise on the cards as soon as the end of next month.

One woman who knows the value of the project is Joy Valentini, whose husband Euclid, 65, has been going to the centre since February last year, having been diagnosed with dementia in July 2015.

Mrs Valentini, 62, said: “It's given him somewhere to go and a sense of purpose. He is proactive in the actual running of the place and what they do on a daily basis so he feels he is helping some of the other people that go there.

"It's also support for me. Everybody is so friendly. Even if you want to bend somebody's ear there's always someone there to listen and help if they can.”

She said the centre has helped to improve her husband’s self-esteem, following the diagnosis.

"It was a gradual process but he kept feeling he was useless at absolutely everything and when he started to go to the Meeting Centre he felt there was something he could do and help others in similar situation to himself,” she said. “He really enjoys it. They have fun."

The council has made the building available at little or no cost, and said it can continue to be used with the same agreement, whilst the centre is operating or possibilities are being explored.

Kumbi Mandinyenya, operations manager for Alzheimer’s Society, said: "The Leominster Meeting Centre is part of a research study looking at whether a Dutch model of care for people with dementia could be successfully replicated in Poland, Italy and the UK with a sister site in Droitwich Spa and we are confident that there will be a positive evaluation of the project.

"Against a backdrop of government social care cuts though, the future of the Leominster Meeting Centre is uncertain and Alzheimer’s Society has been working with the council and a local advisory group to put together viable plans for the centre however this is quite a challenge without long-term statutory funding. Alzheimer’s Society will continue to offer people with dementia in Herefordshire support and advice.”