- How can we create a community benefits system?
- What are the prospects for young people in Cornwall?
- How can we design a better service for people living with dementia?
- Who wants to be a young entrepreneur?
- Could a community work exchange help people find employment & skills?
- How can we present GB expenditure & benefit data to show opportunities for innovation?
- How can people do more for their community?
- Where there are difficulties, there are opportunities.
- Imagine if Cornwall was a Worldwide Superbrand...
- Can Big Society be delivered with small change?
- Challenging Big Cornwall to Design in The Time
- Is there such a thing as 'Hard to Reach' people?
November 2011
How can we design a better service for people living with dementia?
Sea have been hard at work this week preparing a business case and pitch for the Design Council and Department of Health as part of the “Living well with dementia” project launched earlier this year.
During this project we have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some really great partners; Age UK, Volunteer Cornwall, NHS Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, Arts for Health and Cornwall Council, all are really passionate about improving dementia care and already play key roles in supporting those with dementia.
As we get nearer the deadline and our idea develops I think it would be a good time to reflect on some of the fascinating, surprising and revealing insights we have had during our journey.
One of the first things we learnt after picking up the brief was the enormity of the challenge that is dementia, my own granddad was diagnosed with vascular dementia but it wasn’t until this project that I really started understanding dementia.
Dementia is not a disease in it’s own right, it is a series of symptoms which can be bought about by a whole range of different diseases and other factors, Alzheimer’s being just one example (although by far the most common). In fact there are 97 different types of dementia, which makes identify and diagnosing the condition much harder especially at the early stages, and actually although GPs and other clinical practitioners can diagnose dementia through a series of cognitive tests there is no way to definitely diagnose the cause of dementia except at post mortem or, in very rare cases a brain biopsy.
The condition is wide spread, with 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 having a form of dementia and 1 in 3 people thought to be affected by dementia (family, friends etc.). These figures are only going to rise; in 2021 it is expected that there will be one million people in the UK with dementia and this figure is set to increase to 1.7 million people by 2051.
- We mapped the cost of dementia, watch our video. Click Here
So we have a complex condition, a huge portion of the population affected and naturally there is a big cost associated with the care. Estimates show that the cost of dementia to the UK is in the region of 20 billion pounds, around 26,000 pounds per person on average. However we know through Ed’s Grandfather's experience that this figure can easily exceed this with his dementia care to date costing in excess of 132,000 pounds!
Dementia however is not a condition that is best represented through facts and figures, it is an extremely emotional experience and can greatly affect the lives of every one involved. We know from person experience, from others and from those that provide the care that dementia is extremely challenging and there is a huge amount of stigma associated. What is needed is a range of care and support as well as understanding but does it exist and where can people go?
This is where the stigma becomes an issue, dementia due to its nature is a frightening condition but if diagnosed early enough and with the right support individuals can continue to live their lives perfectly well. Simply understanding that early diagnosis is beneficial could make a massive difference. In a survey of GPs less than 40% of doctors agreed with the statement; “families would rather be told about their relative’s dementia as early as possible”, if there is a perception that actually people would rather not know, mixed with a lack of confidence in the dementia care pathway (only 44% of doctors agreed that there are satisfactory specialised services for older people and/or their families in my area to meet the needs of those with dementia.) then surely the motivation for early diagnosis is reduced.
- Ed Rowe's Father and Grandfather who was diagnosed was dementia. It has been their journey and experience of dementia which has shaped our project.
However if there is a clear understanding of the benefits of early diagnosis matched with a whole range of support topped off with a proactive approach surely that is a recipe for success. Age UK as part of their changing lives approach have placed an individual in a Cornish GP surgery, their role purely based around dementia, supporting those who have been diagnosed and pro actively finding those who haven't, as a result the surgeries dementia register has increased by 33% in the short time spent in that position.
We are not the experts in dementia, but we have surrounded ourselves with them, we have personal experience and a desire to solve problems. Dementia is such a massive subject it is impossible to talk about all of the issues but hopefully this has given you an insight to just some of our findings.
Links
Improving dementia services - National Audit Office
