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Admiral Nursing Service - Herefordshire

  • The Admiral Nurse service is a collaboration between Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust and Dementia UK.

About the service

The Admiral Nurse service is a collaboration between Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust and Dementia UK.


What is an Admiral Nurse? 

Admiral Nurses are specialist dementia nurses. They provide life-changing support for families facing dementia, helping to prevent or manage complex issues. They can give tailored health advice and emotional support and help build links with other health and care professionals. For many families, they can be a lifeline.

Admiral Nurse dementia services

Admiral Nurse service appointments and visits provide an opportunity to seek specialist advice, support, and clinical guidance, in confidence. Nurses have the skills, knowledge, and experience to support families where there are complex needs. 


What are complex needs? 

Every family has its own experience of dementia, but here are some examples of complex needs that the Admiral Nurse can offer support with. 

  • The person with dementia has been admitted to hospital in the past six months.
  • The person is at high risk of needing to go into hospital because of their dementia.
  • The carer is struggling to understand the diagnosis of dementia and how it affects the person.
  • The carer is under significant stress and at risk of a breakdown.
  • The carer needs support with managing challenging behaviour in the person with dementia.
  • The family needs support with advance care planning.
  • The person with dementia and their carer disagrees about the person’s care and treatment.
  • The person with dementia is approaching the end of life.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Every family living with dementia has its own unique circumstances. Admiral Nurses take the time to truly listen to each family’s situation and suggest methods to deal with symptoms and coping strategies for the challenges dementia can bring.

When is the Admiral Nurse service available?

Appointments and/or visits will typically be available: 

Monday-Friday 9am-5pm (excluding bank holidays).

Please note that we are not an urgent response service so we cannot accept urgent or same-day referrals. 

How to be referred

Professional referrals only

You can ask your dementia advisor or another professional within the Older Adult Mental Health Service to refer you to the Herefordshire Admiral Nurse Service.

The service is available to the family carers of people with a confirmed diagnosis of dementia who live in and/or are registered with a GP practice in Herefordshire. 


Referral information for professionals

Anyone who provides care and support to a person living with dementia can be referred to the Admiral Nurses, provided that: 

  1. The person with dementia has already received a diagnosis.  If no diagnosis has been given, please advise the person and/or carer to contact their GP initially.
  2. The carer has given consent for a referral (we are unable to progress referrals without consent).
  3. The person living with a dementia is a resident of Herefordshire and/or is registered with a Herefordshire GP.

Online referral form to be completed here: 

Admiral Nurses Professionals Form


What to do if you do not meet the referral criteria

If you do not meet the referral criteria for the Admiral Nurse service at this time but you have questions or concerns about dementia, you can speak to an Admiral Nurse on Dementia UK’s national Helpline. Call free on 0800 888 6678 or email Dementia UK.

The Helpline is open seven days a week, Monday-Friday 9am-9pm: Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays 9am-5pm (except 25th December).

Alternatively, you can visit Dementia UK to book a phone or video appointment with an Admiral Nurse at a time that suits you.