Specialist dementia nurses are back in Lanarkshire, offering free face-to-face support clinics for carers and families affected by the condition.
Dementia UK has announced the return of its advice clinics to the area, run by the charity’s Admiral Nurses. The sessions are open to anyone touched by dementia, whether you’re caring for a loved one at home, struggling to navigate the system, or simply looking for someone who genuinely understands what you’re going through.
Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia nurses who work directly with families rather than patients. They offer practical advice, emotional support, and help with the kind of complex decisions that can feel overwhelming when you’re in the middle of a caring role. For many families in Lanarkshire, having access to that level of expertise for free and close to home is a big deal.
Dementia affects tens of thousands of people across Scotland, and the number is rising. But it’s not just the person with the diagnosis who feels the impact. Partners, adult children, and close friends often find themselves taking on caring responsibilities with little preparation and even less support. The clinics are designed with those people in mind.
The sessions give carers a chance to sit down with a specialist nurse, ask questions, and talk through their specific situation without being rushed or brushed off. That might mean getting advice on how to handle difficult behavioural changes, understanding what services are available locally, or just having space to talk honestly about how hard things have become.
Dementia UK says the clinics are open to anyone impacted by dementia in the Lanarkshire area, regardless of where they are in their caring journey. You don’t need a referral, and you don’t need to be at crisis point to come along. The charity is encouraging people to reach out early, before things become unmanageable.
Lanarkshire has a significant older population, and dementia care has long been a pressure point for local health and social care services. Community-based support like this can take some of that strain off statutory services while making sure families get help that is personal and consistent.
For carers who have previously felt invisible in the healthcare system, the return of these clinics is a welcome development. Caring for someone with dementia can be isolating, exhausting, and emotionally draining in ways that are hard to explain to people who haven’t experienced it. Having access to a nurse who specialises in exactly that situation can make a genuine difference to how people cope day to day.
Anyone in Lanarkshire who wants to find out more about the clinics or book a place can contact Dementia UK directly through their website or helpline.
Really glad to see this back. Caring for someone with dementia is absolutely exhausting and isolating, so having proper support available locally makes a genuine difference to families going through it.