1. The National Dementia Declaration lists seven outcomes that the DAA are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers? 

Improving the quality of care of people with dementia throughout their hospital stay is “everyones business” in Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust (SFT).     The SFT dementia work programme is geared to improve the patient experience and to deliver on the eight regional dementia standards developed by the South West Dementia Partnership Group.  It is also mapped to the 10 Dementia NICE Quality Standards.  A baseline assessment has been completed alongside participation in the National Dementia Audit 2012.  

Delivery of the work programme is led by Directorate Management Teams and Quality leads working with leads from the Dementia Steering Group which provides leadership and expert advice crossing organisational boundaries.   55 clinical and non clinical dementia champions across the hospital dementia pathway are supported to progress initiatives based on patient and carer feedback and the Trust dementia education programme.  Achievements include mealtime observation and staff volunteers trained by Speech & Language Therapists as mealtime assistants to support wards in ensuring vulnerable adults are able to safely eat and drink, dementia specific quality indicators monitored and reported to the Trust Board, end of life care training in dementia care, and therapeutic and recreational activities providing social stimulation and reminiscence.   

2. What are the challenges to delivering these outcomes from the perspective of your organisation? 

A key challenge is caring for people with dementia in a hospital environment managing a wide range of acute conditions, high activity and patient flow whilst avoiding incidents such as falls, increases in anxiety and agitation, and patient transfers wherever possible.  Dementia specific challenges include achieving 90% compliance with the CQUINs target to achieve early diagnosis of dementia for all patients aged 75 years and over when assessing “unwell” patients in an environment unfamiliar to them, establishing carer assessments in hospital and increasing patient access to mental health liaison services and intermediate care.