Issue - meetings

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, the Lead Member of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee, introduced the report on the in-depth review of Dementia Services in the Borough and highlighted the following points:

·  Due to lack of awareness, only a small proportion of people who suffer from Dementia received support and treatment.

·  The Select Committee found that, out of 1700, only 379 cases of Dementia were recorded by GPs in the Borough.

·  The Select Committee’s scrutiny of Dementia coincided with the Government’s own publicity campaign to raise awareness and recognised that the Borough should carry out its own local campaign and provide training to GPs and health service workers.

She offered her thanks to Members and Officers for their contribution to the review and stated that the recommendations in the report were mainly based on lifestyle changes of residents in order to help prevent the early onset of dementia.

Councillor Bailey asked whether the report made any recommendations with regard to the provision of services to enable people remain in their own homes for as long as possible and what funding measures were in place to support this.

Councillor Carpenter responded that there was an excellent home service already available for elderly people in the Borough. Although there was no specific recommendation in the report, the Select Committee did take account of the National Dementia Strategy objectives and the Memory Service which seeks to enable people to stay in their own homes for longer. She further stated that the Government had made funding available to NHS Barking and Dagenham to help deliver the Strategy.

The Assembly therefore agreed the following recommendations:

1. That NHS Barking and Dagenham organise local health promotion campaigns to raise public and professional awareness about life-style changes, such as stopping smoking, eating healthily, drinking alcohol sensibly, exercising more and having regular health checks.

2. That the local Health Services, together with the Local Authority and Voluntary Sector, mount an awareness raising campaign about dementia to build on the Government’s national campaign and to begin the process of reducing the stigma attached to dementia.

3. That NHS Barking and Dagenham, the Local Authority and other health providers, improve awareness of dementia and memory services available to health care professionals, particularly GPs, and the voluntary sector through a planned work-force development programme and a clear referral pathway.

4. That NHS Barking and Dagenham, together with its health care partners including the North East London Foundation Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, and the Local Authority, prepare a joint strategic plan and undertake joint commissioning to develop an integrated care pathway for GPs, dementia patients and carers, which is clear and provides one point of contact.  It is important that the plan is based on accurate estimates of the number of dementia sufferers in Barking and Dagenham and that sufficient facilities are put in place to meet the expected increase in demand.

5. That the Local Authority, together with its health partners, review the delivery of services and consider providing a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81

The Select Committee’s main report has been circulated under separate cover.

Received and noted the draft final report of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee which presents the Committee’s findings from its in-depth review of dementia services.  The Lead Member, Councillor Mrs Carpenter, introduced the report and outlined some of the key aspects and recommendations arising from the review.

Agreed, in order to assist the Council to achieve the Community Priority of ‘Healthy’, to commend the report to the Assembly.