National Dementia Strategy - Update - 29th November 2007

Background

On 6th August Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Services, announced the development of a National Dementia Strategy for England. The announcement followed a series of national reports about dementia care, including the National Institute for Clinical Excellence/Social Care Institute for Excellence Dementia Guideline, the Alzheimer's Society 'Dementia UK' report and the National Audit Office Value for Money Review of dementia. The Strategy will have three key themes

improving awareness
early diagnosis and interventions
improving the quality of care

How will the Strategy be developed?

A Department of Health (DH) Programme Board will oversee the work to develop the Strategy. This Board is chaired by David Behan, Director General of Social Care, and has among its members Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People, and Professor Louis Appleby, National Director for Mental Health.

The Strategy will be developed by a DH appointed Working Group. The work is being led by Professor Sube Banerjee, Professor of Mental Health and Ageing at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and Clinical Director for Mental Health of Older Adults in the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Jenny Owen, Executive Director of Adults, Health and Community Wellbeing in Essex and Joint Chair of the ADASS Older People's Committee.

An External Reference Group (ERG) will provide external advice and guidance on the content of the Strategy and Implementation Plan. The ERG will be chaired by Neil Hunt, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Society. This group will include a range of key stakeholders including Age Concern, Help the Aged, Action on Elder Abuse and others. This group is supported by three Sub-Groups, each one allied to one of the Strategy's key themes.

How can I be involved?

The Care Services Improvement Partnership and the Alzheimer's Society will be running a series of 'listening and engagement' events prior to the issue of a draft strategy for public consultation. The draft Strategy will be published in early Summer 2008. This will be followed by a 90 day consultation period.

There are three early events being held on 7th (early diagnosis and interventions), 10th (improving the quality of care) and 11th December (improving awareness) and there will be further events in early January 2008.

Strengthening the Involvement of People with Dementia

The work to develop the Strategy is now well underway. A number of products are being developed in association with the Strategy and they will be launched when ready.

Ensuring that people with dementia have a say in the development of the Strategy is a priority. Listening to the views of people with dementia is often overlooked in the development and delivery of services. The Care Services Improvement Partnership has developed guidance to help commissioners, planners and providers find appropriate ways to engage with people with dementia as service users. It's called a 'tool kit to strengthen the engagement of people with dementia'.

This was launched on 27th November by Ivan Lewis. He said,

'The toolkit builds on and strengthens the section on Involving service users and their carers in Everybody's Business. Most importantly, people with dementia and their carers have been involved in its development. Therefore, it provides a true reflection of the skills and techniques people with dementia believe are important for engagement and involvement. It also demonstrates the valuable contribution that people with dementia can make.'

Further information