Research: Dementia Friendly Cities

Dementia Friendly Cities

Taken from a report by Leeds City Council
I found a useful report by the Leeds city council about how they plan on becoming a dementia friendly city. Here are the main points. 

• This report gives an overview of work to date and future plans for dementia-friendly Leeds. The scope of this report covers important developments in health and social care; and steps towards local “dementia-friendly communities”, which are intended to improve the everyday experience of living with dementia.
• The Council announcing the commitment to dementia-friendly Leeds (March 2012); and their event for dementia awareness week, “Better lives for people with dementia in Leeds”, hosted by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.
• Support from the three Clinical Commissioning Groups in Leeds to allocate £400K of service transformation monies to projects to develop early diagnosis, post diagnosis support, integrated care, and a skilled workforce.
• A further £45K has been attracted from NHS regional innovation fund, for collaborative work to reduce inappropriate use of anti-psychotic medication.
• It is estimated that there are 8,400 people with dementia in Leeds, of whom 4,000 have a diagnosis recorded. 
• The report defines Dementia as a term used to describe: a set of symptoms that include loss of memory, mood changes, and problems with communication and reasoning. There are many types of dementia. The most common are Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse.
• Dementia is a long-term condition, which can be managed to maintain wellbeing; and usually co-exists with other long-term conditions. 
• Support must be co-ordinated throughout the “dementia journey”, from awareness of early signs and symptoms, through diagnosis and early intervention, to care through the advanced stages and end of life care.
• Family members and carers are often the most important support that a person with dementia has, and have specific needs arising from the impact of dementia on relationships, decision-making, and daily living.

The following priorities have been identified for improving health and social care in Leeds, the first four of which will be supported by one-off investment of local service transformation funds:

• Increasing early detection and diagnosis, by support and training for GPs, and improvements to memory clinic services.
• Ensuring that after diagnosis, there is a clear offer of support and treatment to maintain well-being and independence as far as the condition allows.
• Improving integrated care for people with more complex needs and risks, which arise from a combination of dementia, long-term conditions, and frailty.
• Achieving the standard for workforce quality, for health and social care, set by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence – that people with dementia are cared for by appropriately-trained staff.
• Better support with emotional and psychological needs, and reduced use of anti-psychotic medication; supported by investment of £45K NHS regional innovation fund.
• A local campaign to improve public awareness, and promoting positive attitudes towards people living with dementia.
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to improve ward environments, in line with the NHS Call To Action The Right Care – developing dementia-friendly hospitals.
• A dementia needs assessment for the Leeds population, to improve our understanding of local needs, as part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

Alongside these priorities, Leeds is committed to developing dementia-friendly communities and involving people living with dementia in this process. This requires the greatest degree of engagement from a wide range of businesses and organisations outside health and social care, most of whom never have considered their role in enabling people to live well with dementia.


The “Better Lives For People With Dementia In Leeds” event in May 2012, included a workshop on dementia-friendly communities. This suggested that priorities should include awareness-raising with supermarkets and transport providers; promoting intergenerational work; and exploring whether a ‘self identification’ scheme would be helpful. This would enable a person to show a ‘passport’-type document to explain one’s condition and needs, in case of difficulties.

Reflection
I think this kind of stance is much needed and long overdue. It is right there should be more emphasis on getting early diagnosis. There is a definite need for the increased funding detailed in this report.