Dementia Directory listing criteria

Services listed in our Dementia Directory must relate to someone’s condition or their caring role. We also include services for people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or people who are worried about their memory. 

Group services

Group services that are open to everyone, such as dementia friendly faith services, exercise groups or dementia friendly cinema screenings, must meet the following criteria:

• The service must have been created or its delivery must have been amended to meet the needs of people with dementia or their carers.
• There must be time to socialise before or after, unless the service is itself a social activity
• The service is an ongoing service (which means it’s not a one-off event)
• It is desirable that dementia information is available to the service users

The delivery of services provided by individuals on a one-to-one basis that are open to everyone must have been created or its delivery must have been amended to meet the needs of people with dementia or their carers. It also must be an ongoing service and not a one-off event.

Who cannot list a service?

• Individuals providing day care services that are not a registered company
• Individuals providing day care from their own residence
• Private transport firms
• Tradespeople: we define a tradesperson as being a person delivering services such as building, plumbing, hairdressing, cleaning, home carers and massage.
• Professional services, such as solicitors and accountants
• Services provided by individuals delivered in someone’s home, or on a one-to-one basis, supported by a registered charity or business, will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Which services cannot be listed?

• Generic services without a clear offer of a service for people affected by dementia
• Advice services that are not impartial and do not signpost to services other than their own
• Services relating to comorbidities where dementia or MCI are not one of the conditions
• One-off events
• Dementia awareness services
• Dementia-friendly venues (such as a dementia-friendly cinema) and spaces, including dementia-friendly outdoor spaces such as gardens
• Dementia-friendly businesses (such as banking)
• Closed services, such as: a service for residents of a particular housing association or care home
• Services selling products or distributing them for free (including activity packs) - we define a product as something tangible. For example: a book, memory boxes, playlists, a painting.

Registered care services

• Registered care services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Online matching services that match someone who needs care with someone who’s providing care. 
  Health services
• Services only available via an assessment or referral by health and social care professionals or clinical services involving medical treatment, including individual physiotherapists and occupational therapy
• Continence services where people can’t self-refer

Home support services

• Home support where the provider is required to live with the person needing support
• Home help services provided by individuals or cleaning companies
• Shopping, gardening or handyperson services not delivered through voluntary organisations. Handyperson services can be listed on the directory as they are not intended to provide complex or skilled solutions and do not replace qualified tradespeople.
• Informal home delivery services, such as neighbours helping with shopping and picking up prescriptions on behalf of neighbours
• Services that provide equipment

Online services

• Online resources for people working with people with dementia and their carers
• Online resources where the service offer is unclear or the content is covered by Alzheimer’s Society’s websites
• Recorded material, such as recorded activity groups or singing sessions. We only list real-time virtual sessions

Therapies

• Counselling or talking therapies apart from cognitive stimulation therapy 
• Art therapy (including art, music and drama) if the therapist isn’t registered with HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council) and is not operated by a registered company or charity
• Complimentary therapies (excluding mindfulness) may be mentioned as part of the service description of a wider service offer or, for example, a dementia café offering aromatherapy sessions every other month, but can’t be added as a service in their own right.

If you are unsure about whether you can list your service, please contact the Dementia Directory team by emailing [email protected]