Surrey develops dementia tool with Department of Health
Surrey County Council has developed a tool to help councils nationally improve standards of care for people with dementia.
It has created a system for the Department of Health that all local authorities can use to track how successful initiatives to support people with the condition have been, allowing them to pinpoint where further improvements can be made.
The local reporting tool was devised after a request from the Department of Health’s director general of social care David Behan.*
It was launched by Care Services Minister Paul Burstow yesterday (21 July) as part of a national commissioning pack to improve dementia services.**
Following further testing, the local reporting tool is expected to be launched at the UK Dementia Congress in Liverpool in November and will then be made available to other local authorities.
Last July national clinical director for dementia Professor Alistair Burns said the county council and NHS Surrey were leading the way with their joint plans for improving dementia care.
The tool allows local authorities to accurately monitor whether they are meeting seven objectives identified by the Dementia Action Alliance.***
It lets them collect social care and health data and takes account of the opinions of people with dementia, carers and professionals and presents it in a simple format.****
Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Michael Gosling, said: “With a growing elderly population, we need to better understand dementia if we are to deal with its effects more successfully. This tool will help all councils do that.
“Surrey was more than happy to offer the Department of Health its expertise in the field of dementia care and it is yet another example of our willingness to embrace new ideas to improve people’s care as part of our overall aim of becoming a world class organisation.”
All councils with responsibility for providing adult social care services are required to draw up long-term plans under the government’s national dementia strategy.
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For more information, please contact Senior Media Relations Officer Kevin Richardson on 0208 541 7267 or email kevin.richardson@surreycc.gov.uk.
Notes for editors
* With the help of Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Surrey and the Alzheimer’s Society.
** For more information, visit the Department of Health website. Go to http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/MediaCentre/Pressreleases/DH_128611
*** Dementia Action Alliance is made up of over 40 organisations. The objectives include ensuring:
- Services are designed around people with dementia and their needs.
- Personal choice and control and influence over decisions
- Being treated with dignity and respect.
**** This includes information on the number of people:
- given a formal diagnosis
- who have a named key worker
- getting an annual review
- admitted to hospital and how long they stayed
- receiving approved medication.
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