Dementia patients set to double to 16,000 by 2030 in Northamptonshire

Public consultation has started on new plans to help shape the way different organisations tackle the condition. The three-year strategy aims to improve the level of care recevied by sufferers.

NHS Nene Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS Corby CCG and Northamptonshire County Council have now developed a draft strategy in partnership with the Northamptonshire Dementia Strategy Group and other third sector organisations to act as a road map for commissioning and service re-design.

The strategy will focus on the following objectives:

To develop a local dementia strategy for Nene CCG, Corby CCG and Northamptonshire County Council

To meet or exceed the centrally prescribed dementia diagnosis rate of 66.7% (for Nene CCG by March 2016 and maintain the Corby CCG diagnosis rate of 88%)

To ensure access to post-diagnosis support with a dementia care and advice service

To develop intermediate care pathways for people with dementia to enable them to maintain or regain the ability to live independently in their own home

To improve dementia carer support

To improve end-of-life care for people with dementia

To develop options for housing support, housing-related services and telecare to support people with dementia and their carers

To develop a sustainable dementia care home market that delivers quality assurance

The strategy aims to provide an overarching statement of how health and social care organisations can best meet the needs of dementia patients in the county.

Councillor Suresh Patel, county council cabinet member for adult social care, said: “In Northamptonshire there are around 8,000 people with dementia. That figure is expected to double by 2030, which is why it is vital that we have good services in place to offer help and support.

“I would urge anyone who is affected by dementia, including carers and health professionals, to take part in this consultation and help us shape this important strategy which sets out our proposals for dementia care.”

Geraldine McMurdie, dementia commissioner for Nene CCG, Corby CCG and Northamptonshire County Council, said: “We are committed to improving the outcomes that people with dementia and their carers.

“We want to ensure that services are designed around our patients needs and that these services support patients to live as independently as possible.

“We want people to experience care and support that is personalised and coordinated, delivered in the right place at the right time.”