Agenda item

Presentations (5 minutes each)

 

The following presentations of no more than 5 minutes will take place, each group to explain their work and services and how they would like Exeter to respond to the challenges of dementia over the next 10 years:-

 

(a)  Background - Dementia Friendly Communities Partnership - Padouk Fielding

(b)  Exeter Dementia Action Alliance – Gina Awad with Rachael Milton from Innovations in Dementia in attendance.

(c)  Topsham Day Care – The Mede – Sallie Rutledge

(d)  Age UK Exeter – Martyn Rogers or Lisa Shrimpton

(e)  RAMM – Ruth Gidley.

(f)   Estuary League of Friends – Rachel Gilpin with Rowena Lewis in attendance

 

Input from CCG Commissioners – to be confirmed

 

Discussion on the City’s response to Dementia over the next 10 years and role of groups and partnerships in the City.

 

The Chair welcomed the representatives of the various groups involved with dementia and advised that apologies had been received from the following:-

 

Professor Linda Clare – Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing and Dementia, University of Exeter

Rowena Lewis – Estuary League of Friends

Anne Rollins – Alzheimer’s Society

 

The following were in attendance:-

 

Padouk Fielding - Dementia Friendly Communities Partnership, Devon County Council

Gina Awad - Exeter Dementia Action Alliance

Rachael Milton – Innovations in Dementia

Sallie Rutledge - Topsham Day Care – The Mede

Martyn Rogers - Age UK Exeter

Ruth Gidley - RAMM.

Rachel Gilpin - Estuary League of Friends

Debbie Avery and Vicky Hutchinson-Field - Westbank

 

He invited the representatives to speak on the services they offered.

 

Dementia Friendly Communities Partnership - Padouk Fielding

 

Padouk reported that, nationally 850,000 people were living with dementia rising to over 1 million by 2025. In Devon, there were 14,200 people living with dementia and this figure was set to increase to 24,200 by 2046.

 

There were about 100 types of dementia, with Alzheimer’s the most common, all placing a huge burden on health and social service resources. There were some 20 dementia support groups active in Exeter and achieving greater collaboration between them would be beneficial. Establishing Exeter as a Dementia Friendly City would raise awareness, change attitudes and help secure the involvement of the wider community, including businesses.

 

Exeter Dementia Action Alliance – Gina Awad

 

Gina highlighted the following key issues:-

 

·         ultimate goal of making Exeter a Dementia Friendly City by harnessing the good will of the community and encouraging key staff in businesses to train as dementia friendly champions;

·         seek to involve businesses and community organisations in increasing awareness of the needs of those with dementia so that they can continue to enjoy what Exeter has to offer;

·         developing an Action Plan. Many organisations already committed including GP surgeries who gave been issued with pocket guides, Waitrose, Princesshay, Exeter BID, Picture House with dementia friendly screening, University, faith groups, John Lewis, Exeter City FC and inter-generational work involving  schools;

·         collaboration with University of Exeter and Innovations in Dementia; and

·         Exeter Dementia Action Alliance – one of 260 nationwide with some local authorities and CCG’s recognising the benefits and providing funding such as Plymouth, South Gloucestershire and Southampton.

 

Innovations in Dementia – Rachael Litherland

 

Innovations in Dementia is a UK wide organisation, with some 1,000 groups, but with no group currently in Exeter, working with people with dementia, partner organisations and professionals with the aim of delivering and testing projects to enhance the lives of those with dementia. It provides advice and training to organisations to help them deliver alternative projects which are creative, positive and enabling.

 

Topsham Day Care – The Mede – Sallie Rutledge

 

The Mede offers both day care facilities including Cognitive Stimulation Activity days, day trips etc. and respite breaks for people with dementia, their families and carers operating from No 7 The Mede, Seaword House and Summer House.

 

For the future would like to see better facilities generally for those with dementia such as cafes, signage and greater awareness in stores.

 

Age UK Exeter – Martyn Rogers

 

Some of the services provided by Age UK Exeter include:-

 

·         Day services available at Park and Lane Clubs with 110 attending per week;

·         Budding Friends – 16 couples per week and Carer Support with 90 carers;

·         40 men involved in Men in Sheds and Tools Company;

·         Mild Cognitive Impairment self-management groups with more to be rolled out;

·         Working more closely with local Alzheimer’s Society and Professor Mark Levine, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Exeter on enhancing “circles of support” and role of technology.

 

Important goals for the future:-

 

·         improve society’s attitude, understanding and empathy;

·         achieve better rates of diagnosis followed by timely information, support and contingency plans;

·         improve emotional support for carers and activities for people with dementia;

·         recognise design and technology issues; and

·         provide good quality respite.

 

RAMM – Ruth Gidley.

 

The Museum had introduced a programme of activities aimed at those suffering from dementia and the carers and was working with Exeter Dementia Action Alliance. As part of its focus on encouraging health and well-being dementia friendly activities at RAMM included:-

 

·         activity for people with mild cognitive and memory problems and their carers - opportunity to talk about and touch objects from the handling collection on a seasonal theme;

·         dementia friendly gallery tours; and

·         hands on art making inspired by paintings of the sea.

 

Estuary League of Friends – Rachel Gilpin

 

The League offered a range of services provided by volunteers and paid staff including friendly activities, home help service and individual living services. It served Topsham, Countess Wear, Ebford, Exminster, Clyst St George and Clyst St Mary and worked in collaboration with the Primary Care Trust, Devon County Council Social Services, Age Concern but felt that greater use could be made of the voluntary sector.

 

Believe that the medical profession is now increasingly recognising the issue, as dementia has in the past often gone unnoticed exacerbated by the reluctance of some family members to fully engage. Feel that greater co-ordination between groups is important as some Topsham businesses have received multiple approaches from groups active in this field. Further suggest that City Council staff in supported housing could benefit from training in this area including recognition of local services that could support their tenants.

 

The Board discussed the City’s response to Dementia over the next 10 years and the role of groups and partnerships in the City.

 

There was general agreement that, with an ageing population, the system was overstretched with a huge demand on health and social services, in an area also associated with an inward migration of the elderly and with a CCG currently the highest overspent in the UK. In also recognising the work highlighted above, more could be achieved through greater collaboration and the Chair proposed the Board support the development of a Dementia Strategy towards Exeter becoming a Dementia Friendly City and suggested that this could be best achieved through the recently established City Council Dementia Friendly City Task and Finish Group.

 

A typical pathway was described with GP diagnosis, referral to a Memory Clinic and help through the Devon Dementia Support Service and the voluntary sector including the Alzheimer’s Society. The gap in the training of medical teams was a concern and it was understood that only some 60% of Devon GP’s had been trained. This, together with family denial, hindered early diagnosis, a key step to securing further support for both sufferers and carers into the future. Diana Moore remarked that the Exeter Community Forum, through the involvement of its members and use of community halls etc., was well placed to assist and Simon Bowkett referred to the innovation initiatives in health and social care promulgated by the South West Academic Health Science Network.

 

There was a need for the commissioning of services to harness the collective work of the various groups helping in this area rather than seeking to promote a competitive approach to commissioning.

 

Valuable work was undertaken by Admiral Nurses nationally, but they were not currently active in the south west south of Weston Super Mare. The City Council, through its equality programme, was committed to increasing staff awareness and further staff training would occur with a Task and Finish group recently established. Councillor Morse, a member of the Group, stated that in the one meeting held to date, it had been felt that the first priority would be to identify how the Council itself could improve its services to those with dementia through raising awareness and training staff to recognise signs of dementia and offer appropriate assistance.

 

Because of the immense scale of the issues the group would also focus on information gathering, consideration then to be given on how to progress this issue further including report back to the relevant City Council Scrutiny Committee and possible involvement of the Exeter Health and Wellbeing Board. Responding to the suggestion that the representatives of the bodies present should also serve on the Group, Councillor Morse advised that, as with other Task and Finish Groups, the information gathering was likely to be undertaken through individual invites to attend as and when appropriate. 

 

On the suggestion of the Deputy Chair, each representative highlighted the following single issues, as potential quick fixes:-

 

·         Padouk Fielding - the involvement in the development of a strategy of those directly affected by dementia;

·         Gina Awad - the involvement in the development of a strategy of the Admiral Nurses;

·         Sallie Rutlidge - consideration to be given to adopting the Salisbury City Council initiative of offering grant support to facilitate holiday breaks for carers;

·         Martyn Rogers - greater awareness and use of voluntary sector services such as Westbank by GP’s/Primary Care;

·         Ruth Gidley - improved inter relationship and signposting between all those offering dementia services; and

·         Rachel Gilpin - greater support and collaboration between each organisation, also encompassing the commercial sector as far as possible.

 

The Chair thanked all for attending what had been a very productive meeting.

 

RESOLVED that the Board support the principle of the development of a Dementia Strategy with view to Exeter becoming a Dementia Friendly City and that the results of the Task and Finish Working Group be reported back to a future Board meeting.