Families in Mumbai caring for someone newly diagnosed with dementia can't find trained caregivers or a memory clinic close to home.

The problem, broken down

Who it hurts

Adult children and grandchildren in Mumbai and its suburbs looking after an older relative with dementia, often for the first time.

The moment

The weeks after diagnosis, when the family needs a trained carer, therapy sessions and advice, and the only dedicated government memory clinic may be across the city.

What people do today

Families ask agencies, friends and relatives; agencies often have no staff trained in dementia care, and regular therapy means repeated journeys across the city.

Why it's unsolved

Memory clinics, day care, therapists and trained carers are run by different hospitals, NGOs and agencies, there is no public list by area, and Maharashtra's district memory clinic OPDs are not listed by location. Unlike palliative care, dementia care is long, continuing and mostly at home.

What solved looks like

A free directory for the Mumbai region, searchable by suburb, listing memory clinics, dementia day care, therapists and agencies with dementia-trained carers, with cost, languages and how to get a referral, plus a short guide for families in the first month after diagnosis.

Builders still need to know

• Would the State share the locations of its district memory clinic OPDs so they can be listed?→
• How can a directory confirm that an agency's carers are actually trained in dementia care?→
• Is there demand for shared, part-time trained carers across several families in one area?→