The Forth Valley Dementia Project Eileen Richardson Library & Information Service Manager Peebles, June

A12-month project which ran from April 2007 to April 2008 Funded by the Scottish Government with £200,000 Run by the Dementia Services Development Centre The Project

Based at the University of Stirling Works to improve services to people with dementia and their carers and families Achieves this through providing research, training, information and consultancy The Dementia Services Development Centre

What is the project? A way of helping all those in Forth Valley who come in contact with dementia to achieve the targets that they already have to achieve

To improve standards of care for people with dementia To provide better support for families and carers To raise awareness of dementia-related issues Aims of the project

Why Forth Valley? Typical of dementia care in Scotland Many high-quality services, not always evenly distributed 3,000 people with dementia in Forth Valley

Forth Valley

Why the programme? Because one of the major problems is that the responsibility is spread over a wide range of professions, providers and services

What took place Change event –One-day convention of 120 staff involved in dementia care in the Forth Valley area Process mapping –Nearly 200 change ideas generated to help achieve local and national objectives Small change improvement cycles Personal effectiveness

Criteria and features of the project Designed to help meet existing targets Action plan drawn up from ideas generated from the convention No external experts – the people involved lived and worked in the area, and their expertise already existed No new partnerships – relationships were already long-standing

recognition of dementia, so earlier diagnosis person-centred services co-ordinated approach reducing delayed discharges and inappropriate acute hospital admissions shifting care from hospital to community Good dementia care

poor awareness of dementia education and training lack of home support greater priority for dementia care acute hospitals inequities in service provision Key issues identified by stakeholders

Aims optimise outcomes of care earlier diagnosis avoiding misdiagnosis co-ordinate dementia services between agencies give teams the skills and confidence to help deliver clinical governance and continue developing services

Outcomes Improving care for people with dementia: 63% of staff planned to make changes as a direct result of the programme 51% felt some part of the experience of people with dementia had improved Improving the confidence of staff: 47% were more confident in caring for people with dementia 67% felt the level of recognition of dementia had improved Improving the skills of staff: 90% learned something new 87% shared that learning with someone else 92% said access to training had improved

Website

Report

Good practice examples Patient information Help with eating Life story books Reminiscence sessions Telecare Interaction training

Change ideas 200 ideas generated Easy/immediate – Difficult Funding the changes some had no cost implications some paid for through project funds some subsidised by participating partners

Police People involved Librarians Allied Health Professionals Emergency services Nurses GPs Church groups Care assistants Care home managers Social workers Family carers Call handlers Psychiatrists Voluntary organisations

Quotes “Very informative. Challenged and set straight some preconceived notions that I had about dementia.” “Knowing there is the backup here, the centre, information and resources has made me more confident.” “They [nursing staff] know more about dementia now, there is a better understanding of ways of dealing with patients now and also they are questioning traditional methods of care. For instance, they are questioning the sedation of patients, understanding ways of communicating with patients.”

Now what? Dementia a national priority - £3m pledged Good practice implementation Personal testimonies Contribution to Government targets –HEAT targets –Dementia Quality and Outcomes Framework targets –The Integrated Care Pathway for Dementia

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