Derbyshire preparing for escalation in Dementia

Health managers in Derbyshire are preparing for a massive escalation in the number of people affected by dementia. A 50 percent increase in the number of cases is predicted by the year 2025 as the population there ages.

Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust, the eighth largest PCT in the country, says its dementia commissioning plan is a local, tailored down version of the national dementia strategy.

The Derbyshire strategy is being developed with key partner organizations including community groups, NHS Trusts and the eight Derbyshire District Councils and Boroughs. Dr David Black, Director of Public Health, Derbyshire County Primary Cre Trust and Derbyshire County Council, said the strategy “will build on work that the PCT is already doing regarding improving older people’s mental health. Consultation has taken place on a local basis.”

 

The Derbyshire strategy is in draft form and is currently being considered by various programme boards at the PCT, including the older people’s health and mental health programme boards. The next step will be for representatives from the PCT’s public health division and commissioners to agree priority action and timescales. The final strategy is due to be published by early November.

 

People with dementia lose the ability to think well enough to do normal activities, such as bathing, getting dressed or eating. Sufferers gradually lose their ability to solve problems and their personalities may change. At its most disabling, people with Alzheimer’s disease, one of the severest forms of dementia, suffer additional cognitive deficits, advancing to major personality changes and eventual loss of control over bodily functions.

 

The Derbyshire strategy sets out a vision to improve public and professional awareness of dementia and will rely heavily on health promotion and education about the early signs of dementia and its longterm development. Key aspects of the dementia strategy in Derbyshire include:

 

• Early diagnosis, treatment and support.
• Easy and fast access to memory assessment services for the whole of Derbyshire —including Derby City.
• Better support for those who are carers for people with dementia. Typically carers are family or close friends.
• More home care services to support people who have dementia so they can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible.
• Better quality of care in the most appropriate place for dementia sufferers – whether it be at a hospital, in a care/EMI nursing home, or in the patient’s own home.

 

“Another priority is for the PCT to build on current existing good practice between social services and the NHS to ensure that the highest quality service is given to people suffering with dementia and their carers,” said Dr Black.

 

“In Derbyshire we currently have a wide range of services for older people including community mental health services, day assessment and treatment, inpatient facilities, as well as other types of day care providing social support. The PCT also works with voluntary organisations to provide Alzheimer Cafés and other befriending and daycare services” he added.

 

The PCT is also reviewing many of these services to both improve the quality of services offered and the availability of services, so that people in all areas of Derbyshire can access the appropriate services. “To do this we are working with Derbyshire Mental Health Trust, Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council as well as voluntary organisations such as the Alzheimer’s Society,” a spokeswoman for the PCT said.