Swindon Memory Service

Who are we?

The Memory Service is made up of specialist memory nurses, psychologists and doctors. We have access to Occupational therapists and Speech and Language therapists to help us make an accurate diagnosis.

Who is the memory service for?

The Memory Service is for people who are concerned about their memory or thinking ability and think it is affecting their day to day life.

We aim is to make sure that everybody worried about a memory or thinking problem is thoroughly assessed, appropriately diagnosed and that this diagnosis is given in a sensitive way.

By helping people understand the cause of their memory problem and any likely future changes, we hope to help them find ways to manage their situation and deal with things more confidently.

We will provide information and support in a format which suits the individual and can give information and advice to carers and families.

What to do first

If you are concerned about your memory or the memory of someone close to you, it is important to visit your GP first to discuss your concerns.

There are many medical conditions that can affect memory and these need to be diagnosed and treated first.

Your GP will ask you to have some blood tests to rule out other causes for your memory loss.

What will the memory service do?

We will send you an appointment with a specialist memory assessor.

During this appointment, they will talk with you about your memory difficulty, complete some memory assessments with you and discuss the effects of any problems.

The assessor will also begin to tell you about any support or information that may help you manage the memory difficulty.

We encourage you to bring someone with you to talk about this together.

You may also be given an appointment to go for a head scan. This will help us work out the reason for your memory problem. We may ask you to come to further appointments for more detailed memory testing.

Once we have all this information, we will be able to explain what the results mean and give a diagnosis if needed. This may be at your initial appointment or at a separate one.

You will also be able to ask any questions and we can talk about medication and support to help you manage the situation.

Next steps

If you are prescribed memory medication this will be reviewed by telephone until you are on a stable dose.
The prescribing and reviews are then passed to your GP. Your GP is able to contact the memory service for advice at any time.
We will give you information about the specialist post- diagnostic groups running in your area. This may be a way for you and your family/carer to meet other people with similar difficulties, to share experiences and look at things that may help.