Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care and Public Health

Forward Plan Ref: 2019/162

Contact: Lorraine Donnachie, Senior Strategic Commissioning Officer Tel: 07795 291338

Report by Corporate Director Adults & Housing Services (CA6).

It is proposed that the council considers working towards becoming a dementia friendly organisation and helps to create and support dementia friendly communities.   This will help to develop further awareness, understanding and support for people in the community and staff in the workforce who are living with dementia.  Many people living with dementia feel that the support they need to participate in their community is not available and they are not able to do the everyday things they want to. Many feel isolated and do not feel they are part of their local communities.  The creation of dementia friendly communities is an attempt to meet this need and, as a leader, commissioner, planner, regulator and service provider, the council has a key role in supporting and facilitating these.

The report sets out the stages recommended by Alzheimer's Society and the Local Government Association that the council needs to complete in order to become more dementia friendly.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          approve the council working towards becoming a dementia friendly organisation and developing dementia friendly communities; and

(b)          endorse the funding for Dementia Friendly Community Coordinators to develop and deliver a programme for dementia friendly communities.

Cabinet considered a report proposing that the council considers working towards becoming a dementia friendly organisation and helping to create and support dementia friendly communities.    The report set out the stages recommended by Alzheimer's Society and the Local Government Association that the council needs to complete in order to become more dementia friendly.

Councillor Sobia Afridi, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care spoke in support of the proposals, commenting that dementia was an umbrella term covering over 200 types of dementia. From personal experience of a family member Councillor Afridi highlighted the importance of raising awareness particularly in the BAME community as people often lived with the condition for some years before diagnosis. Councillor Afridi welcomed that there were 27 dementia friendly members of staff and queried whether there were any dementia friendly councillors, commenting that this would be helpful.

In response to a question from Councillor Afridi, Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health explained that in setting out measures of success it would be important to engage with people living with dementia, to identify their needs and to use these as a benchmark for measurement. Councillor Ian Corkin, Cabinet Member for Partnerships and Council Business referred to the ongoing significant redesign of communications that was in part to allow the Council to be more proactive in its messages. He would be happy to discuss with Councillor Afridi ways of improving the reach and content of messaging around this matter.

Councillor Stratford welcomed the proposals and moved the recommendations.

Rachel Pirie, Lead for Older People Commissioning Markets, responding to the comments from Councillor Afridi agreed that it was important to capture measures of success in the action plan and explained that a number of measures already existed such as NHS diagnostic rates and those available through the work of the Health & Wellbeing Board and Health Improvement Board.

Councillor Stratford highlighted that part of the challenge would be identifying people isolated in their own homes who may be unknown to the Council and the Council’s partners. The work on awareness was not necessarily big changes– it could be about being patient and ensuring there were safe places in our buildings. He added that Witney was a dementia friendly town and could provide a role model for taking this work forward.

During discussion Cabinet unanimously supported the proposals making the following points:

·         Young carers were a hidden group, often going unnoticed. It was important to highlight the plight of carers as well as sufferers from dementia.

·         Acceptance of the need for a diagnosis was a challenge with family members often unwilling to recognise that a loved one had a problem.

·         People were living longer but the average age to which people were living well rather than in ill health had not changed. This meant people were living with illnesses such as dementia for longer.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)          approve the council working towards becoming a dementia friendly organisation and developing dementia friendly communities; and

(b)          endorse the funding for Dementia Friendly Community Coordinators to develop and deliver a programme for dementia friendly communities.