HOW FAR HAS MEDWAY GONE IN BECOMING A DEMENTIA FRIENDLY COMMUNITY? A report prepared by a Task Group of the Health and Adult Social Care and the Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committees This page is intentionally left blank How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? CONTENTS Section Title Page 1 Foreword 1 2 Executive Summary 3 3 Background 5 4 Setting the Context 7 5 Methodology and Approach 15 6 Summary of evidence collected SECTION 1 – LEADING BY EXAMPLE Appointment of a Dementia 19 Ambassador Dementia Friends Programme 19 Medway Dementia Action Alliance 23 Dementia Friendly Employment Policies 28 Communication and Engagement 29 SECTION 2 – SERVICE PROVISION Provision of Leisure Activities 30 Dementia Friendly Transport 34 Safe Havens 36 Libraries 37 Planning and Housing 40 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? SECTION 3 – POST DIAGNOSTIC SUPPORT Post Diagnostic Support 42 Telecare Provision 46 Rainham ‘Test for Change’ project 47 Dementia Cafes and Peer Support 49 Groups 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 51 Appendix 1 Bibliography 65 Appendix 2 Diversity Impact Assessment 67 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? 1. FOREWORD 1.1 On behalf of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, we are pleased to present the review entitled ‘How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community’, with its associated recommendations, to Medway Council’s Cabinet. 1.2 The Task Group has considered the scope and complexity of the review topic, together with the potential impact on Medway Council’s children and adult services and the Council’s partners. The Task Group has reviewed how existing internal and external provision is helping to make Medway a Dementia Friendly Community and has considered how Medway could improve its dementia friendliness, with particular regard to how the Council can lead by example in this work. 1.3 Finally, the Task Group would like to thank all the witnesses who helped us to gather evidence at one of our meetings, particularly those representing external organisations, for the time they have given to the Task Group and most importantly, for the invaluable information they provided. The Task Group would also like to thank Crawley Borough Council for hosting a visit that enabled us to see the variety of work undertaken to make Crawley dementia friendly. 1 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? The Task Group Councillor Wildey (Chairman) Councillor Freshwater Councillor Griffin Councillor Purdy Councillor Shaw 2 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction 2.1 As the title of this Task Group report suggests, the intention of this review has been to consider how far Medway had gone in creating a Dementia Friendly community, while taking care to avoid duplication with the variety of work already being undertaken by Adult Social Care, Partnership Commissioning teams and health providers to implement the Council’s Dementia Strategy. A key aim of the review was to identify which of the criteria to enable Medway to be recognised, by the Alzheimer’s Society, as a Dementia Friendly Community had been met and where further work would be required (see 4.14 of the Setting the Context chapter). 2.2 It is anticipated that the evidence collected by the Task Group will be used to inform the ultimate submission of an application by Medway Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) to the Alzheimer’s Society for Medway to be granted Dementia Friendly Community status. The aim is for this application to be submitted by 2020 at the latest in order to help satisfy the 2012 (former) Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia that half the population of the United Kingdom should be living in a dementia friendly community by 2020. Outcomes of the Review 2.3 The Task Group identified three areas of focus for its review. These were Leading by Example, Provision of Services and Post-diagnostic Support. The review recommendations are presented under these focus areas. 2.4 It was concluded that one of the most significant contributions that Medway Council can have towards making Medway a Dementia Friendly community is to ‘lead by example’ by ensuring that its staff and services are dementia friendly. 2.5 The second area of focus was the provision of services. The main element of this was universal services that are available to everyone, whether living with dementia or not, and how these could be adapted or customised to make them more dementia friendly. 2.6 The third area of focus was post-diagnostic support, including the ongoing work to implement the Council’s Dementia Strategy and the proposals for a ‘Test for Change’ pilot in Rainham. 2.7 The full conclusions and list of recommendations of the Task Group can be found in the Conclusions and Recommendations section of this report. 3 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? This page is intentionally left blank 4 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 Headline statistics: As of June 2015, an estimated 850,000 people were living with dementia in the UK, of which over 40,000 were below 65 years of age. It is expected that around one million people will be living with dementia by 2025.1 The number of people with dementia is expected to grow to one million by 2025. In Medway in 2015, there were estimated to be 2,898 people living with dementia, with 2,727 people over 65 years old. By 2037, the number of people living with dementia in Medway is expected to increase to approximately 5,600. National charity, the Alzheimer’s Society, currently supports around 85,000 people living with dementia in the UK. 3.2 Choosing a Review Topic The Council’s Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed in December 2015 that an in-depth review should be undertaken on ‘How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community.’ 3.3 The review topic was chosen due to Medway having an ageing population and, although dementia can affect a broad age range, it is more commonly prevalent in older people. Early detection, supporting individuals and their families to maintain good health, social connectivity and ability to live at home as long as possible is seen as being the ideal scenario and the aspiration for Medway. 3.4 The topic is particularly suitable for review given the existing national and local focus on dementia. Nationally, this has included the publication of a Dementia Strategy and the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, while in Medway, the Council has published its own Dementia Strategy. The Local Government Association has published guidance that sets out how Councils can play a lead role in making their communities’ dementia friendly, while the Alzheimer’s Society has developed a process for areas to be recognized as being Dementia Friendly Communities. Further details on these initiatives and plans are given in the ‘Setting the Context’ chapter of this report. 3.5 The Medway Council Dementia Strategy ‘Living Well with Dementia in Medway’ was published in August 2014. This is a joint strategy between the Council and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group. It sets out the direction of travel for change in relation to dementia care and support services and forms the basis upon which commissioning decisions are made. More detailed reference is made to the Medway Dementia Strategy within the ‘Setting the Context’ chapter and elsewhere within the report. 1 The Alzheimer’s Society, accessed 4 January 2017 5 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? This page is intentionally left blank 6 How far has Medway gone in becoming a Dementia Friendly Community? 4. SETTING THE CONTEXT a) Legal framework, Council duties and obligations, accountabilities 4.1 Definition of Dementia – The Alzheimer’s Society Factsheet, ‘What is Dementia’ describes the word ‘dementia’ as being: ‘A set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour.’ National Policy Framework 4.2 The Care Act 2014 The Care Act 2014 created a single, modern law which makes it clear what kind of care people should expect and what they will receive. The Act introduced new responsibilities for Local Authorities in managing the social care needs of their local population. Of particular relevance to people with dementia and their carers, the Act requires local authorities to: Promote wellbeing. Prevent, reduce or delay needs (wherever possible). Provide good access to information, advice and statutory advocacy. Create choice in the range of support services for people to access and support more people with dementia to benefit from Direct Payments. New rights for carers including the right to an assessment of their needs. All people with dementia and carers to be protected against abuse and neglect. Individuals should be supported to make choices and have control over their own lives, including people with a diagnosis of dementia. 4.3 Other Key Legislation and Guidance Besides the Care Act 2014, other legislation and guidance that is particularly relevant to dementia care includes the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Equality Act 2010 and the World Health Organization guidance, Age Friendly Cities, which was published in 2007. As defined by the Equality Act, the majority of people living with dementia would be considered to be disabled and, therefore, disability legislation would apply to their care and place in the local community.