The Staying at Home retreats, run by HammondCare, arm couples with information and techniques to prolong the person with dementia going into full-time care.

Vicky and Keven Quinn, who live at Dubbo's Oaktree Retirement Village, will be attending the first retreat, following Keven's dementia diagnosis in 2023.

Keven, who used to be a truck driver, said he could remember everything that happened years ago - including the couple's "big lap around Australia" in their caravan in 2017 - but he had trouble remembering what happened yesterday.

Keven, 79, said the toughest thing about living with dementia was "getting told off" when he couldn't remember something or he couldn't get the words out.

"I feel confused at times. I can think of something and it's in my head and it has just got to come out through my mouth," Keven told the Daily Liberal.

"I often say it's in there and I can't talk about it. I know it's there and I can walk away, three or four paces away and it's back again and I can answer the question."

For Vicky, 68, one of the biggest challenges is Keven's short-term memory loss. A nurse by trade, Vicky had worked with dementia patients during her career but she said caring for her husband was more challenging.

"When it hits home it's different," Vicky said.

"Trying to work out if I'm doing it right or working out if there's a better way to do it. Hopefully the program will sort things out for me."

The first Staying at Home retreat in western NSW will take place at Mudyigali Overnight Respite Cottage in late March, with two more retreats planned for later in 2024.

Anyone in the central west is welcome to apply to attend a retreat for free with their partner where there has been a diagnosis of dementia, and each retreat at the cottage can take up to four couples.

The program, a three-day, two-night getaway - designed for both carers and the person living with dementia - is intended to provide the skills so both can remain at home for as long as possible.

The retreats are Australian Government funded so there is no cost to participants. The retreats include accommodation for both the person living with dementia as well as their carer and fresh-cooked meals.

According to the most recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, there were 5255 people living with dementia in the Western NSW Local Health District in 2021.

The Staying at Home program was developed by Dementia Support Australia, which is part of HammondCare.

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