Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin Closed Commissioning Group (CCG) is to launch its new ‘Dementia Vision,’ designed to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers.
According to the CCG, the new joined-up service model aims to provide people living with dementia in the area the support and resources they need to ‘live life to their fullest,’ the group says.
Under the model, health and care partners will act collaboratively in a ‘more joined-up system’ through the sharing of information and working as one multi-disciplinary team, in which NHS teams will work ‘closer’ with care homes in order to provide ‘appropriate’ care and support.
Additionally, the service model will introduce three new ‘patient-facing’ roles to Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin’s Integrated Care System (ICS), which will include:
Admiral Nurses
Admiral Nurses will provide psycho-social and practical support for people affected by dementia, when they are facing difficulties.
Dementia Navigators
As part of the Dementia Vision, the Navigators will support people living with dementia to develop their own Living Well plan and will act as a contact point for advice, guidance and access to more assistance.
Dementia Link Workers
Provided by the Alzheimer’s Society, the Dementia Link Workers will support people with dementia by helping them to remain socially engaged and active in their communities, as well as contribute to the individual’s Living Well Plan.
George Rook, Chair of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Dementia Steering Group, said of the new service model: “As a person living with dementia myself, I know that those of us living with it and our family members and carers want to have as good a quality life as we can.
“So, the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Dementia Vision is about ensuring that people will be treated in an individualised way, and the services will be tailored to their needs.
“This vision is not a pathway as such – it’s a box of services and support, which people affected by dementia can dip into and use as and when they need them.
“There is no single route for the dementia journey; people can decline quickly or slowly, in steps or gradually, and people can improve for a time during the journey. So, support and care services need to be agile and flexible to allow people affected by dementia to receive what they need, when they need it.”
Simon Jones, Councillor and Cabinet Member for adult social care and public health, Shropshire Council, added: “We are proud to say that all of us working within the local health and care system will work more closely together in a more joined-up approach thanks to the introduction of the new vision, through information sharing and teamwork.”
