About Dementia Relief Trust

for dementia works in partnership with the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors to provide Admiral Nurses for carers of people with all forms of dementia.

Admiral Nurses are qualified nurse specialists who offer individual psychological and practical support to carers from the point of diagnosis and for as long as necessary.

They also provide consultancy and advice to other professionals working in the field, and work to raise awareness of the immense stresses and strains that caring for someone with dementia brings.

With around 700,000 people in the UK diagnosed as having dementia (that's 1 in 5 people over 80, and 1 in 20 people over 65), and most of them being cared for at home by their families and friends - at least in the early stages of the illness - there is a huge need for Admiral Nurses.

Since its foundation in 1994, for dementia has set up 13 teams of Admiral Nurses around England, and aims to reach out to carers of people with dementia right across the UK.

Each team of two nurses costs about £100,000 a year to maintain, and the charity constantly needs to raise funds to support existing services as well as to expand its network and carry out the research and evaluation it needs to undertake.

for dementia has also developed a programme of low-cost, high-quality training for professional care workers.

Our history

for dementia  (formerly the Dementia Relief Trust) came into existence because of the experiences of the family of Joseph Levy, who had vascular dementia during the 1980s.  They became aware of how little support there was for carers of people with dementia, and vowed to try to improve the situation for carers in the future. 

In 1989 a pilot team of Admiral nurses (named in honour of Joseph, whose nickname was “Admiral Joe” because of his love of sailing) was set up in London, working within the NHS, providing support to carers. Following their success further services were set up, and the charity itself was registered in 1994.

The role of the Admiral Nurse has evolved over time and now focuses on consultancy and advice for other professionals as well as direct support for carers.  There are now services in many areas of London, Kent, Surrey and north west England, with new teams being launched in the West Midlands and south east England shortly.  At the same time, new  roles and partnerships are being developed and the charity now has Admiral Nurse lecturer/practitioners and its first Admiral Nurse consultant working in the community.

In April 2000 it merged with an organisation called Carers of the Elderly, which provides high quality training in dementia care and other related issues for professional careworkers in London and around the country.

In January 2003 the Dementia Relief Trust and Carers of the Elderly re-launched the charity, to become 'for dementia'.