Dementia Friends

Making our 3 Practices Dementia Friendly – Our journey

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Inspire Patient Group has been working hard to make the 3 GP Surgeries that form the Inspire  group ‘Dementia Friendly’. 

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This is an initiative devised by the Alzheimer’s Society, which  involves working through an extensive programme of changes to  our Practices to make them better at supporting patients who  have had a diagnosis of dementia. It is also beneficial to the  patient’s families and carers. 

The areas covered are: 

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• General Practice systems 

• General Practice culture 

• Diagnosis and Care

• Physical environment – involving a ‘walkthrough’ our  practice by a patient beginning in the car park right through  to actually sitting opposite the doctor or nurse

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Our team are of the increasing belief that working to improve care  for dementia patients not only leads to benefits for the patients  but also for the practice staff and the whole community.  

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Working on our ‘Dementia Friendly (DF) programme has shown us  that people’s attitudes change once they are educated about  tackling the difficult issues around this diagnosis. This helps with  the fear, stigma and misconceptions about the illness and  promotes ‘caring in the community’. This is probably the most  important change we need to make to support families living with  dementia. 

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Our journey in 2019:

 

We have: 

• Worked with the Practice team to develop a DF Toolkit. Click  here to see the progress we have made on this project. You  will see that this will always be a ‘work in progress’ as things  can be continually improved – especially with the help,  

• comments and support of the active PPG members

• Held 2 DF Information Sessions - one in Chesterfield and  one in Hasland. Over 100 people attended with 85 new 

• Dementia Friends made. Click here to see a short video clip  of the Hasland evening

• Advertised, advertised, advertised. We have explored all  manner of ways to advertise the developments we have  made by working with the Practices. We have also been  wonderfully supported by Trudy Ford at the Hasland  

• Magazine who has recorded our developments over the months 

• Negotiated with The Alzheimer’s Society for Luiza, a  Dementia Support Worker, to be made available for families  living with dementia. Families can now book a half hour  appointment to discuss any difficulties they are facing 

• Held a stall in a marquee at the Hasland Summer Gala along  with the Alzheimer’s Society, Hasland Resource Centre and  the local Lloyds Pharmacy. This was a big success with  many people signing up to come along to a DF information  session or to join the PPG and to help Hasland become a  DF Village - or all 3! Link to Gala video 

• Triggered a movement for Hasland to become a DF Village. This is an exciting development, which began with the PPG but has escalated into a community initiative with great  potential to improve the lives of the estimated 400 families  living with dementia in Hasland

• Held a DF Information Session for all of our Practice staff and clinicians so that they have all become Dementia Friends

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Our goals for 2020:

• To achieve accreditation as a DF General Practice, whilst  continuing with our work and improvements. 

• To hold another DF Information Session in Chesterfield in March 

• To set up a working group to promote Hasland as a DF Village