1. Action Plan

2. Actions

• Increase dementia awareness with staff and patients

  Plan Dementia Friends awareness sessions to be delivered to practice staff, a one hour session delivered by a local Dementia Champion.

  Register as a Dementia Friendly Organisation  to access online videos which can be used on the practise website https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk,

  Include playing of relevant awareness videos at staff meetings,

  https://www.youtube.com/user/AlzheimersSociety/videos.

  Publicise the Dementia Friends to the PGG via this link

  Use printed posters and leaflets provided by the Alzheimer’s Society from the “Worried about your memory” campaign to support patients to make an appointment with their GP in they have memory concerns.

  Status:

  Being implemented

• Appointment Management /Reminders to be put on patient computer records/ Use of appointment reminder tool

  Staff are aware that it is difficult for patients with dementia to attend early appointments and that they often forget that appointments have been made.

  The surgery always offers later appointments in order to provide a telephone reminder service on the day.

  Clinicians are aware of timing issues for patients with dementia and always aim for flexibility with times and length of consultations, for example booking double appointments so more time can be spent on patient care and review.

  Status:

  Planning

• Dementia Friendly Environment

  Review the environment with the dementia friendly environment checklist

  http://www.dementiaaction.org.uk/dementia_friendly_environments_checklist.pdf

  Status:

  Investigating

• Encourage early and accurate diagnosis in primary care, especially in the high risk groups

  Our practice has signed up to the National Dementia DES and have ensured that all patients who are in the high risk groups are asked about their memory and offered a screening test if there is any concern. This is followed up by early and appropriate referral to a memory clinic offering expert advice and support.

  Helping you to assess cognition - A practical toolkit for clinicians

  Status:

  Being implemented

• Support for carers of patients with Dementia

  All patients with Dementia have been invited to identify their main carer and we have offered them carer support and encouraged emergency care planning. They are also offered a regular health check and annual flu vaccine.

  Status:

  Being implemented

• Ensure that practice staff are able to identify and support patients who have Dementia and care for them with dignity and respect

  Enabling the early identification of a patient with Dementia (an alert on their notes) helps to support them when they phone the surgery or arrive at the surgery for an appointment

  Status:

  Planning

• Promoting discussion on advanced care planning

  Patients with a diagnosis of dementia have a time limited opportunity to make advance care planning decisions both with respect to financial and health and welfare matters.

  In order to empower patients and their carers and family members we will ensure they have the opportunity to discuss the existence of the process to obtain Lasting Powers of Attorneys for both Finance and Health and Welfare.

  Many people are not aware that loved ones and next of kin do not have the legal right to ensure their loved ones wishes are adhered to, we will ensure they are informed about the possibility of creating Advance Decisions and Advance Statements to enable them to documents their futures wishes

  Status:

  Planning

• Access to Dementia Support Services

  Offer patients with a diagnosis of dementia and their carers appointments with a Dementia Support Worker based in an available meeting room within the practise to enable them to have ease of access to emotional and practical support on half a day per month

  Status:

  Delivery

• Referrals to Dementia Support Services

  When patients with a diagnosis of dementia or their carers contact the surgery ask them if they would like to be referred to the Luton Alzheimer’s Society for practical and emotional support.

  Once patient consent is given GP practise staff to send the referral to Luton Alzheimer’s Society

  Status:

  Implementation

• Provision of information on research

  When patients with a diagnosis of dementia or their carers contact the surgery ask them if they would like to be informed about opportunities to be involved in research

  https://www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk/

  Status:

  Planning