Salford pledges its support for Dementia United this Dementia Awareness Week
Salford will play a key part in the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership dementia transformation programme over the next five years.
Salford is using national Dementia Awareness Week (DAW), which runs from the 15 to the 21 May 2016, to highlight the leading role it will play over the next five years to revolutionise the experiences of people affected by dementia in Greater Manchester (GM).
Following GM’s historic devolution agreement, improving dementia care and support has been identified as a health and social care priority. Across GM there are more than 30,000 people living with dementia, including 2,250 in Salford.
Representatives from Salford will play a key role in Dementia United (DU), the proposed GM dementia transformation programme. DU aims to make GM the best place in the world for people with dementia and carers to live, by 2020.
Over the next five years, DU plans to work with partners from across the 10 GM boroughs, as well as people with dementia and carers, voluntary sector groups, providers, academic organisations and businesses to meet this ambition. The aims of the programme are to; improve the lives for those living with dementia and carers, along with helping them to have the confidence to take control and make the best use of the support networks that are available to them in the city.
To deliver this, the DU programme is likely to include piloting a key worker model; developing new assistive technology; regularly monitoring and comparing data from across GM to reduce vast differences in dementia care; and ensuring people with dementia and carers are at the heart of designing the programme.
Dementia initiatives already underway in Salford include the Salford Way dementia app, which has been launched by Salford CVS, thanks to funding by NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the ‘Virtual Adventures’ virtual reality rehabilitation programme, run by Salford based charity BASIC.
In addition, activities taking place in Salford this Dementia Awareness Week include, ‘Embracing the dementia challenge in Salford’, a co-production event between Salford CCG, the University of Salford and the Salford Dementia Champions Group taking place on Monday 16 May 2016, the ‘Swim for Dementia Challenge’, organised by Salford Community Leisure and taking place on Sunday 21 May 2016, an arts workshop aimed specifically at people living with dementia and organised by Start in Salford, thanks to funding by Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust which will take place on Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 May 2016 and a ‘Sleep Matters Celebration and Dementia Friends’ event, on Thursday 19 May 2016.
Sir David Dalton, chief executive of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, who is leading on the DU programme across GM, said:
“The role that boroughs across GM, including Salford will play in delivering DU cannot be underestimated.
“There is a huge amount of good work around dementia already underway across GM. By working together, we can ensure that every person with dementia and every carer gets the high quality support and care they deserve, no matter where they live.
“Together, we can make GM a world leader when it comes to dementia.”
Dr Jenny Walton, clinical lead for older people at Salford CCG, said:
“With more than 2,250 people living with dementia here in Salford, dementia is one of the biggest health challenges we face.
“We are proud of our work around supporting those people living with the condition.
“This Dementia Awareness Week is a chance to not only showcase what we are doing here in the city, but also to set out how we want to contribute to putting GM on the map for fantastic dementia care and support.”
George McNamara, head of policy and public affairs at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“The theme of this year’s Dementia Awareness Week is confronting dementia and nowhere is this being illustrated better, than here in GM.
By using these newly devolved powers to transform the experiences of people with dementia and carers, GM and Salford are harnessing the opportunity to create a new blueprint for dementia care for the rest of the country.”
For more information on what is happening in Salford, this forthcoming Dementia Awareness Week, please visit the Salford CCG website: http://www.salfordccg.nhs.uk/dementia-awareness-week-2016
