Dementia Care Cairns

Home isn’t just a place. It’s the smell of their favorite meal, the way sunlight hits the porch in the afternoon, the quiet comfort of their own chair. When memories fade, these small things hold them steady. Staying at home means more than convenience—it means keeping what’s left of their world intact. Less confusion. Less fear. And for you? A chance to just be with them, without always having to be the one keeping everything together.

That’s why we do what we do. At Support Network, we’re not here to take over—we’re here to walk beside you. To help with the practical things, yes, but also to make sure home stays home for as long as possible. Whether it’s a few hours of company, help with daily routines, or just someone who understands what this journey is like, we’re here.

You don’t have to figure it all out alone. Let’s talk about how we can help—1300 671 931.

How We Care for Those Living with Dementia in Cairns

Tailored to the Person, Not Just the Condition

Dementia doesn’t erase a life—it reshapes it. That’s why we never start with a checklist. Instead, we listen. What did they love before? A morning coffee on the veranda? Gardening? The way they hum along to old jazz records? We weave those things into their days, because familiarity is comfort. Routines stay as they were, just softened at the edges to fit where they are now. Less agitation, more peace—for them, and for you.

Expert Care That Feels Human, Not Clinical

Yes, our nurses understand medications, mobility, and memory care. But they also know how to sit quietly with someone when words fail. To laugh with them over old photos. To sense when a hand on the shoulder means more than a perfectly timed pill. The science matters—but so does the way we carry it out. With patience. With respect. With the understanding that even on hard days, dignity never fades.

Therapies That Reach Beyond Memory

• Reminiscence therapy: We don’t just ask about the past—we use it. A scent, a song, a well-worn recipe book can bring them back to themselves, if only for a moment.
• Validation therapy: If they say they’re waiting for their mother (who’s been gone 40 years), we don’t correct them. We meet them where they are. “She must have been wonderful. Tell me about her.”
• Music & memory: A tune from their twenties might unlock a smile, a hum, a name they hadn’t spoken in years. Sound bypasses the mind and speaks straight to the heart.

Because You Need Care Too

This isn’t just about them. It’s about you—the one who’s been holding it all together. The one who worries in the quiet hours. We’re here to give you space to breathe. To remind you: You’re not alone. And you shouldn’t have to do this alone.

Personalised Services That Fit Cairns Families

Every morning in Cairns looks different in someone else’s home. At one kitchen table, there’s a husband who still sets out two cups for coffee, even though his wife passed years ago. Down the street, a grandmother asks every five minutes when her daughter will visit, even as that same exhausted daughter sits right beside her. Dementia doesn’t follow scripts. Neither do we.

What we offer isn’t a menu of services—it’s a way of moving through this with you. A way that bends and adjusts as needed, day by day, sometimes hour by hour. Because the help that’s right today might need tweaking tomorrow, and that’s okay. We’re here for all of it.

The Ways We Can Help

Personal Care: The Little Things That Mean Everything

There’s dignity in how we help someone shower or get dressed in the morning. We take our cues from them—maybe they’ve always been private, so we give space where we can. Or perhaps they need cheerful chatter to make the routine feel normal again. However it looks, we move at their pace, never ours.

Medication Support: More Than Just Reminders

It’s not just about giving pills on schedule (though we do that carefully). It’s knowing that some days, they might refuse, and we need to try again later with a different approach. It’s coordinating with their doctor so the treatment plan makes sense for their life as it is now, not as it was five years ago.

Meals & Nutrition: Comfort on a Plate

Food is memory. We’ve seen a man who couldn’t recall his son’s name light up when he tasted his wife’s pumpkin soup recipe. So yes, we’ll make sure meals meet their health needs, but we’ll also dig for those old favorites—the biscuits they always dunked in tea, the Sunday roast they used to cook. If they want ice cream for breakfast once in a while? We know when to bend the rules.

Safety Monitoring: Careful Without Being Controlling

We keep watch for the stove left on, the front door wandered through, the medication taken twice by mistake. But we do it quietly, in a way that doesn’t make them feel like a child. A strategically placed note here, a gentle redirect there—small things that prevent big worries.

Emotional Companionship: Being There, Truly

Some days it’s looking through photo albums together. Other days, it’s sitting silently while they fiddle with a beloved handkerchief. We’re not just filling time; we’re meeting them where they are, whether that’s chatty or quiet.

Mobility Assistance: Helping Without Hurrying

That shuffle from bed to bathroom takes longer now. We know how to offer an arm without rushing, to suggest rest breaks without making them feel frail. Their home should still feel like theirs to move through freely.

Respite Care: Your Turn to Breathe

Maybe you need three hours to get your hair done. Or a full night’s sleep. Or just to sit in your garden with a book and no responsibilities. However you use this time, it’s yours—guilt-free.

Domestic Help: The Weight Off Your Shoulders

Laundry, dishes, the dust that keeps accumulating—we handle the chores that drain your energy, so you can save it for what matters.

Behavioural Support: Patience as Practice

When they get agitated or repeat the same question for the thirtieth time, we don’t correct or argue. We respond to the feeling behind the words. If they’re looking for their mother (long gone), we might say, “She must have been so kind. What was her best advice?”

End-of-Life Care: Grace in the Hardest Time

Pain management. Keeping them clean and comfortable. Helping family navigate those last conversations. It’s care that honors a whole life, right to the very end.

Flexible Scheduling: Because Crises Don’t Keep Office Hours

A sudden rough patch at 2 AM? A last-minute doctor’s appointment? We adjust. Weekends, holidays, odd hours—we’re here when you need us.

Cognitive Stimulation: Sparking Joy Where We Can

The crossword they’ve done for forty years (even if now we fill in most clues). The hymns they sang at church. The childhood stories they tell on loop. These aren’t just activities—they’re threads connecting them to themselves.

The Real Difference? We Notice the Changes

That slight increase in confusion after daylight savings. The new dislike of foods they once loved. The way they’ve started humming that lullaby from their childhood. We pay attention, so we can adjust before small shifts become big problems.

We don’t just provide care—we provide the right care for this person, this family, this week. Because dementia’s only constant is change, and we’re built to move with it.

You’re not choosing a service. You’re choosing people who’ll truly see your loved one—and you.

Why In-Home Dementia Support Matters for Cairns Residents

There’s a reason we fight to keep them at home. Not because it’s always easy, but because home is more than walls and a roof—it’s the last map they have left when memories fade.

For the Person Living with Dementia

Their World Stays Whole

That tabby cat that curls up on their lap every afternoon. The worn spot on the armchair where they’ve rested their hand for decades. Even the particular way the afternoon light slants through the mango tree outside their window—these aren’t just details. They’re anchors. In unfamiliar places, confusion grows. At home, even on hard days, there are still moments where things feel right.

Routine as Comfort

The same breakfast at the same table. The evening walk to check the mailbox. These small rhythms give shape to their days without demanding explanations. No disruptive new schedules to learn—just life moving forward in ways that still feel like theirs.

Choices That Still Matter

"Tea or coffee?" "Shall we sit outside a while?" At home, they can still make little decisions that get lost in facilities. That sense of agency—of being a person, not a patient—is fragile. We protect it.

For You, Their Loved Ones

The Weight Lifts—Just Enough

No more frantic calls from disoriented parents at 3 AM. No guilt over unwashed laundry or empty fridges. The thousand tiny burdens lighten, so when you’re together, you can actually be together—not just a caregiver ticking off tasks.

Space to Remember Yourself

An afternoon fishing at Trinity Inlet. A proper night’s sleep. Time to miss them a little, instead of always being overwhelmed by need. Respite isn’t selfish—it’s what lets you come back to them as someone who still has smiles to give.

Peace of Mind That Stays

Knowing someone’s there who truly sees them—who notices if they’re skipping meals or seem unusually withdrawn—means you’re not carrying this alone anymore. That consistency changes everything.

Home care isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about doing what matters most—keeping their world familiar, and yours from crumbling under the weight.

Who We Support

Dementia doesn’t arrive with a manual. Whether you’re watching subtle changes in someone you love—the forgotten appointments, the repeated questions—or navigating more complex needs as the days grow harder, we’re here.

We walk alongside:

• Those just beginning to notice shifts—when a diagnosis is fresh and the path ahead feels uncertain.
• Families in the thick of it—when every day brings new challenges and exhaustion starts to feel normal.
• People waiting for residential care—because the gap between "not yet" and "right now" shouldn’t mean going without support.
• NDIS and Home Care Package recipients who need specialised care that understands dementia’s nuances.
• Private clients who want tailored help without red tape—just warmth and flexibility when it’s needed most.

No stage is too early; no need too small.

Designing the Right Care Plan

This isn’t about fitting your loved one into a system. It’s about shaping support around the life they’re still living.

Here’s how we do it:

• You reach out—a conversation, no pressure. We listen to what’s happening, not just the clinical details, but the real-life ones. ("She keeps forgetting to eat, but she’ll always take a biscuit with her tea.")
• We come to you—because understanding someone’s world means seeing it. Their home tells us what forms and brochures can’t.
• Together, we build a plan—mixing practical care with the personal touches that make it work. (Maybe medication reminders go better right after their favorite radio program.)
• We stay adaptable—regular check-ins to tweak things as needs change.

Need help tomorrow? We’ll move quickly. Prefer to start with one afternoon a week and adjust later? That’s fine too. This is your timeline, not ours.

Getting Help with Funding & Access

Let’s be honest—navigating care funding can feel like learning another language. But it shouldn’t be what keeps you up at night.

We help untangle:

• Home Care Packages (whether you’re approved or still waiting)
• NDIS supports for cognitive impairment
• Private arrangements for those who want simplicity

And we handle:

• Explaining subsidies in plain English
• Paperwork that usually takes weeks to decode
• Finding every bit of support you’re entitled to
• You’ve got enough to carry. Let us take this weight off your shoulders.

We’ll help you understand what’s available—without the headache.