Posted 09 January 2023 - 10:00
Posted 09 January 2023 - 10:00
News
Nurses in pilot scheme to assess care home residents for dementia
Move follows a successful trial in Norfolk that saw 95 people receive a dementia diagnosis, giving them access to the right care and treatment
Move follows a successful trial in Norfolk that saw 95 people receive a dementia diagnosis, giving them access to the right care and treatment
Specialist nurses in general practice are to assess more care home residents for dementia in a countrywide pilot.
Some 14 pilot schemes have been launched across England this month which will see GPs share a list of care home residents without a dementia diagnosis with specialist nurses and other healthcare staff.
Diagnosis gives relatives ‘piece of mind’
Nurses will then check with care home staff, family and friends to see if residents have experienced memory problems and offer them a face-to-face assessment.
It follows a successful trial in Norfolk that saw 95 people receive a dementia diagnosis, providing them access to the right care and treatment.
‘I’m so relieved and pleased that my mother has the dementia diagnosis because it has meant that people realise that they have to dig a little deeper with her’
Mental health nurse Laura Hudson whose mother Pam was diagnosed with dementia
Former nurse Pam was diagnosed with dementia as part of the trial. Her daughter, Laura Hudson, a mental health nurse said her mother’s diagnosis gave her ‘piece of mind’.
‘I’m so relieved and pleased that she has the dementia diagnosis because it has meant that people realise that they have to dig a little deeper with her.
‘If you ask her if she’s OK she will say she’s fine, but sometimes you have to ask a little more than that to get to the bottom of things,’ she said.
Useful for families to help understand their loved one’s behaviour
Dementia nurse consultant for Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust Kumar Ponnusamy added: ‘A diagnosis opens the door to all sorts of information, advice, support and treatment, and is also incredibly useful for families as it helps them to understand their loved one’s behaviour.
‘In addition, it allows care homes to tailor the support they provide to better meet the individual’s needs, as well as informing future care planning.’
The latest NHS figures show that 451,992 people in England have a dementia diagnosis, up 2.8 per cent on last year.
The pilots are backed by £900,000 funding from NHS England. Two pilots will be launched in each of England’s seven regions.
NHS determined that people who developed dementia during pandemic given a diagnosis
NHS England’s national clinical director for dementia Professor Alistair Burns said: ‘The pandemic has naturally had an impact on the number of people diagnosed with dementia, with elderly people seeing fewer people to protect themselves from COVID-19.
‘The NHS is determined to ensure those who developed dementia during the pandemic are given a diagnosis as it will open up doors to further support for people and their families who suffer from this heartbreaking disease.’
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