A LONG sought-after hub for dementia sufferers and their carers which opened in Pinehurst may herald similar launches across Swindon.

SEQOL, the care and support provider, has established a dementia cafe at Pinetrees Community Centre where carers and sufferers can meet every Wednesday between 10.30am and 1pm.

The official launch of the cafe took place yesterday, a month after it first opened on February 25.

The cafe, which will provide free tea and coffee to visitors, funded by Swindon Borough Council, is geared to target five key areas which are important for the health of dementia sufferers.

These are: physical activity, mental activity, socialisation, a good diet and self-awareness.

Debra Browne, SEQOL’s senior operations manager, said in its first four weeks an average of five to 15 people have used the cafe each Wednesday, though it is not exclusive to Pinehurst residents.

There have also been visitors from Stratton and West Swindon.

“People are needing to get out and needing somewhere else to go during the day,” she said.

Alzheimer’s Society holds Wyvern Memory Cafe every second Thursday of the month at the town centre theatre, but Debra hopes this new venture will provide what regular contact users need on a more frequent basis.

Should it go on to prove a success, SEQOL is committed to launching similar cafe schemes across other wards in Swindon before the year is out, with an ultimate vision for one per day in a different part of the town.