The Woodville Centre at Ham

My dad, who lives with dementia, has spent three days a week at the Woodville Centre, for the last couple of months - to give our family a much needed break from full-time care. He returns home in the afternoon with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. All of the staff, the carers, the drivers who pick my dad up, have all treated him with kindness, understanding, and a good deal of patience. People with dementia can be very challenging at times, but the team at Woodville are first class.

This is a centre of excellence. The staff are welcoming, kind, compassionate and flexible. The atmosphere is warm and caring. If you have any doubts, contact the manager, who will discuss your needs with clear understanding and diligence.

My wife, who lives with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's, has been cared for twice a week at Woodville Day Centre since 2020 to give me my only respite as a full-time, 24/7 carer. She is an awkward customer for sure but my experience is that she is treated with absolute respect, dignity and friendliness. Nothing appears to be too much trouble and on more than one occasion the team have gone above and beyond what could described as reasonable. I have no reservation about recommending Woodville to anyone who needs dementia care for a loved one.

The Woodville Centre in Ham is a wonderful, wonderful place: it is an oasis of calm, peaceful professional care for those suffering from dementia and for those family members who look after them. My wife has late-stage Alzheimer's and I first approached the Centre for help when I needed someone to look after her for an afternoon while I attended tests myself at the hospital. I was filled with trepidation at the thought of just how awful it might be. I had a lengthy chat with the manager and was immediately reassured by her willingness to listen, to empathise and to discuss. The impression I got from her was reinforced by the calm professionalism with which the other staff on duty went about caring for and interacting with those needing their help or companionship: you can learn an awful lot from watching people when they're unaware of being observed. We have now used their services on a number of occasions and I cannot understate how much we have appreciated their help.