Care for people with dementia in East Sussex is set to radically improve over the coming months thanks to a one-off £5 million injection of NHS investment ring fenced for Sussex.
Dementia is used to describe a variety of conditions including Alzheimer’s where the brain is progressively affected by loss of memory, confusion and problems with speech and understanding.
Local NHS and county council social services will be working together on the programme to boost the quality of care people receive in the community.
The programme, financed by a fund from South East Coast Strategic Health Authority, seeks to:
• Ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, more support for families and carers, and help people stay independent for longer
• Create stronger links across health and social care services to ensure a seamless service for patients and carers
• Enable agencies to intervene quickly to prevent problems associated with dementia
• Reduce the amount of time people with dementia need to spend in hospital to enable them to remain longer in their own homes rather than be moved to institutional care.
The funding is the result of a bid by the Sussex Dementia Partnership, a group of NHS and local authority organisations in the county.
Dr Richard Ford, Executive Commercial Director at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said, “Sussex has the highest proportion of elderly people in the country and the proportion is rising.
“By diagnosing more people quickly and providing support to them and their carers we can keep them independent for as long as possible, improve their quality of life and prevent hospital admissions.
“Our aim is to move from one third of people ever getting even a diagnosis to two-thirds.
“At the moment we rely too much on hospital-based care. Through this programme we will shift the balance towards support outside hospital and provide people in Sussex with the best quality dementia care in the country.”
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust the main provider of specialist dementia services in Sussex, is working with local NHS hospital and primary care trusts and voluntary sector organisations to develop new ways of providing services for people with dementia.
By April 2011 the aim is to:
• Reduce the number of people waiting for a diagnosis
• Roll out existing liaison services in general hospitals to cover the whole of Sussex
• Launch new crisis services in each community to support people living at home and in care homes
• Launch a new shared care ward at Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath, for people with physical health needs who also have dementia
• Develop a new role of specialist dementia care case worker.
The organisations involved in the wider programme are:
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
NHS West Sussex, NHS East Sussex Downs and Weald, NHS Hastings and Rother, NHS Brighton and Hove,
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust
East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
South Downs Health NHS Trust
West Sussex County Council
East Sussex County Council
Brighton and Hove City Council
