Agenda item

Director of Community & Children’s Services

The Board considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services informing Members that the Dementia Strategy responded locally to the Prime Minister’s ‘Dementia Challenge’ by establishing a City-specific approach to caring for our residents whilst tapping into the rich diversity of our community.

Synthetic estimates predicted that within the City there are up to 67 people living with the symptoms of dementia, some of whom have been diagnosed, but a large

proportion of whom have had no formal diagnosis. Whilst this may be a relatively

small number, for those with the disease, the support that they receive is vital to

their quality of life and their wellbeing and we are therefore committed to providing

the best possible services to this particularly vulnerable group.

The aim of the strategy was to provide a responsive, high quality, personalised dementia service meeting the needs of residents of the City of London. To achieve this, the strategy sets out 10 objectives:

• Improve public and professional awareness of dementia and reduce

stigma

• Improve early diagnosis and treatment of dementia

• Increase access to a range of flexible day, home based and residential

respite options

• Develop services that support people to maximise their independence

• Improve the skills and competencies of the workforce

• Improved access to support and advice following diagnosis for people

with dementia and their carers

• Reduce avoidable hospital and care home admissions and decrease

hospital length of stay

• Improve the quality of dementia care in care homes and hospitals

• Improve end of life care for people with dementia

·       Ensure that services meet the needs of people from vulnerable groups

·        

Members noted that the strategy committed the City of London Corporation to creating a ‘Dementia Friendly City’, where residents and local retail outlets and services would develop a keen understanding and awareness of the disease and offer support in a respectful and meaningful way. This built on the longstanding tradition within the City of caring for residents and delivering individualised packages of care and support.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation had undertaken a similar project in York. Skills for Care would work in partnership with the City using this model and other good practice examples in order to develop a safe environment for those with dementia.

An operational group chaired by the Interim Service Manager for Adult Social Care,

comprising officers from the City of London Corporation, from the CCG and the GP

practices and a representative of the Adult Advisory Group will be responsible for

monitoring the implementation of the strategy and the action plan. Regular update

reports would be submitted to the Health and Wellbeing Board every 6 months.

The Board asked the Policy Officer work with colleagues in the Built Environment directorate to investigate the signage and directions around the Square Mile and to update Members at the next Board meeting in November on what improvements could be made.

RESOLVED – That Members:

• Approved the strategy; and

• Gave authority to the Director of Community and Children’s Services to action the strategy.