Sage House is a dementia hub in Tangmere, West Sussex. Said to be the first of its kind in the UK, the hub is located in a light, airy building of dementia-friendly coloured zones, wide passageways, Daisy’s café and numerous meeting rooms for everything from legal advice on drawing up wills and powers of attorney to hairdressing, from Citizens Advice Bureau sessions and dementia assessment clinics to Reiki.  

The hub provides a one-stop shop to give all the various services that someone diagnosed with dementia and his or her family might need. Crucially, they will also be allocated one person to help them navigate their way around the mind-boggling systems and choices they will now confront. 

Chief executive Sally Tabbner is passionate about what she does. She was recruited even before Sage House officially opened in 2018 and has taken her team from a staff of three to 36 employees and 66 volunteers who between them over the past 12 months have provided direct support to over seventeen hundred people affected by dementia. 

So successful has the hub proved that Chichester University is currently evaluating the model to see if it might be rolled out across the UK. 

Volunteer Ronnie Patmore, whose late wife Dolly used the hub until she died during the first Covid lockdown in 2020, initially felt guilty and doubtful about leaving his wife in the care of others. However, ably supported by Jackie, a dedicated, personal Wayfinder, Ronnie soon realised that the hub and its resources were just what the couple needed. And since Dolly died, he’s volunteered at Sage House, helping in the café and, in his inimitable way, cheering up the customers. 

“I find myself chatting to people starting out on the same journey as I have had,” says Ronnie. “I know what it’s like and I hope that if I speak to them I might brighten their day”.

Find out more about Sage House at www. www.dementiasupport.org.uk/sage-house

The book Pippa mentioned, by Peter Berry & Deb Bunt, is called Slow Puncture: Living Well With Dementia, and is available from Amazon. 

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