THE charity for dementia is holding a fund-raising carol concert tonight to expand the work of Admiral Nurses.

Currently there are 50 of the specialist dementia nurses covering England, nine of which cover areas in Kent.

Admiral Nurses provide support to the carers of Dementia sufferers, who suffer loss of mental abilities such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning.

The aim of the charity is to increase its number of nurses to 350 to support more carers throughout the UK.

It is hoping this can be helped at tonight’s fundraising carol concert at St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London.

The organisation's chief executive, Barbara Stephens, said: "This event is so important for us in terms of financial aid.

"We are expecting to raise around £40,000 from a combination of ticket sales, sponsorship, donations and Remember a Star, an appeal through which people can commemorate a star on the Christmas Trees in memory of someone affected by dementia.

"This will pay for one Admiral Nurse working in the community for one year."

Julie Allen, 40, who is an Admiral Nurse in Maidstone, said: "Working with carers has been a really interesting experience. We offer carers advice, who often have physical and mental health needs and give them support for depression.

"We help them come to terms with the disease as it just doesn’t affect the person concerned but changes the whole future for the family.

"It is hard for carers to come to terms with the disease as they are witnessing behaviours in their loved ones that they had never done before.

"Our aim is help the carer and teach them to maintain the behaviours."

She added: "We definitely need more awareness about the need for Admiral nurses as there is currently an eight to 10 week waiting list.

"Being an Admiral nurse is really rewarding. It’s the best post I have ever done. We get alot of support and training from the charity for dementia.

"The carers welcome the extra support when they are stressed and upset and having someone to talk to can make all the difference."

Tracey Holland, 40, who shares the nursing scheme with Julie, said: "It’s a really rewarding job and is very challenging.

"The concert is a brilliant idea. The more money, which is raised, the more awareness there will be about dementia. Every case is as important as the next.

"It’s about supporting people and educating carers and families. We work very closely with the Community Health Teams, and without each other, we would not be able to perform our roles."