A new Brain Health Clinic in Bournemouth is aiming to help people with dementia.
The initiative has been launched by Health Sciences University (HSU) in collaboration with Dorset HealthCare.
The clinic hopes to increase the opportunity for people in Dorset to get involved in research and trials into dementia.
It takes place every Monday on HSU’s Bournemouth campus as an initial two-year pilot.
The Brain Health Clinic assesses consenting patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia who have already been diagnosed by the Memory Assessment Services and can offer additional annual cognitive assessments.
Patients are added to a database with their up-to-date cognitive assessment data, allowing them to participate in appropriate clinical trials for dementia and related conditions – including those coordinated by Oxford Dementia Platform UK.
Dr. Julie Northam, HSU’s Head of Research, said: “Sometimes, patients can be given a dementia diagnosis and discharged into the community, waiting for the conditions to worsen.
“With the new Brain Health Clinic, patients will be regularly assessed by researchers and clinical research practitioners at the Brain Health Clinic.
“As research trials or projects become available, the Brain Health Clinic will have up-to-date assessment data, which can then be accessed to know which patients may be eligible to put forward for trials.
“The trials could potentially help to slow the progression of dementia in some cases, so we are delighted to be able to offer the Brain Health Clinic in collaboration with Dorset HealthCare.
“This collaboration with Dorset HealthCare is a brilliant example of knowledge exchange that will benefit our local community.
“It’s important to us that we are an anchor institution for knowledge exchange and economic development within our local community and also falls into our specialism in health sciences.”
Dr. Carol Bannister, Consultant Psychiatrist Older Peoples Mental Health Service and Senior Medical Researcher, from Dorset Healthcare said: “DHC are excited to be collaborating with HSU in this new venture.
“We are all aware of the vital importance of developing new treatments for dementia and the Brain Health Clinic will support patients and carers to facilitate their involvement in innovative research trials to discover new therapies/treatments.”