Department of Health

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National Dementia Strategy

Older man and woman walking in park

The objectives of the project are to develop a national dementia strategy and implementation plan for publication in October 2008. The strategy will address three key themes – raising awareness, early diagnosis and intervention and improving the quality of care.

Consultation on a National Dementia Strategy

The Department has launched a public consultation on a National Dementia Strategy. This consultation draws on evidence from a wide range of reports and stakeholders, a series of listening events involving over 3,000 people and the recommendations of an External Reference Group. It invites everyone to give their views on the ideas set out in the document, as well as contribute new ideas to the debate. The consultation runs from 19 June to 11 September 2008.

Worried About Your Memory campaign

Health Minister Ivan Lewis helped launch the Alzheimer’s Society’s new public information campaign to raise awareness of dementia, its symptoms and the importance of getting an early diagnosis.

Called Worried About Your Memory?, the campaign will prompt and help people to consider if their forgetfulness, or that of a friend or relative, is due to just poor memory or the beginning of a medical problem and encourage them to seek medical advice.

Improving services and support for people with dementia

Recent reports have emphasised the need to enhance joint health and social care mental health teams in the community so people with dementia and their families and carers get the help and support they need.

National Dementia Strategy work programme and planned events

Development of the National Dementia Strategy is expected to take twelve months. It will be fully supported in its work by the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), and the detailed work programme will be determined by an external stakeholder group.

Resources /tools

A number of products are planned to underpin the wider National Dementia Strategy work programme:

Strengthening the involvement of people with dementia

This CSIP toolkit provides good practice guidance for practitioners and commissioners on how to engage and communicate with people who have dementia.

CSIP short breaks fact sheet

This fact sheet provides commissioners, providers and planners with information on a variety of models of short breaks including principles that will enable the outcomes specified by service users and their carers to be met and alternatives to the traditional approach to providing short breaks in a care home.

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