THURSDAY, 8 DECEMBER, 2016

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Reviewing dementia health services in South Perthshire

Residents in South Perthshire will soon get the opportunity to share their views on services for older people.

Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership is currently reviewing and redesigning services in Perth and Kinross in line with national and local strategies to ensure local people receive the best care possible, now and in the future.

One of the areas the Partnership is going to look at is dementia services. The Scottish Government’s Dementia Strategy Standards of Care states that health and social care services should help people living with dementia minimise social exclusion and develop new relationships by establishing and maintaining strong positive engagement with local community and voluntary groups.

Over the last three years dementia assessment services provided within community hospitals in the North of Perthshire have successfully transferred from hospital-based service provision to providing enhanced dementia care within the person’s own home.

That new model of care was introduced following feedback from local people, their families and carers, who told healthcare professionals they would like more person-centred, local care and more opportunities to access different community groups and services. A similar model for South Perthshire is now set to be considered following on from positive feedback from patients and their families in north and north west Perthshire.

The biggest change to the way in which this new model of care delivers dementia services is that they have moved away from the hospital-based model, which offered a limited service to very few individuals living with dementia in the locality.

Healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, are now able to work in partnership with patients and their families, local authority colleagues and partners from the voluntary and third sectors, such as Alzheimer Scotland, to deliver services for many more patients living with dementia and their carers both in their own homes and by supporting people to access a broader range of local community services. The results of this in north Perthshire means that approximately 1000 people are now being looked after in the community.

The ongoing review programme into services for older people in South Perthshire will include a review of the Dementia Assessment Service provided within ward 1 in Crieff Community Hospital. Over the past year, ward 1 at Crieff Community Hospital has admitted on average two patients per month for dementia assessment.

The Partnership in Perth and Kinross is determined to continue to provide the most appropriate dementia services for the Crieff area and surrounding communities and look to provide the most clinically-effective care with the best outcomes for patients and their families.

A meeting, attended by managers and staff representatives, has recently been held with staff in Crieff Community Hospital to discuss the ongoing review process and a full consultation and engagement process involving staff and the wider community will begin in the new year.

Robert Packham, Chief Officer for Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, said, “We would like the local community to help us further improve the health and care services we provide. The Health and Social Care Partnership plans to involve the communities of South Perthshire in looking at future local models of care for older people and specifically those requiring input from mental health services.

“A series of community events are currently being planned and will be taking place early next year where the local community will have the opportunity to share their views.”

Contact:

Debbie Huband

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 424138

communications.tayside@nhs.net

Notes to Editors:

Health and social care services in Perth and Kinross are now delivered by the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership. Integration of these services is part of the Scottish Government’s programme of reform to improve outcomes for adults who use health and social care services. It is a direct response to what people have told us they want. We know that people want to receive care and support in, or near to, their own home, and for that support to feel seamless when different services are involved.

The Partnership will tailor services to meet the particular needs of individual local communities. Health and social care integration will mean changing the way we support and deliver health and social care services, focusing on the important role individuals, communities and third sector have in supporting healthy and independent lives.

You can find out more about Health and Social Care Integration in Perth and Kinross here:

http://www.pkc.gov.uk/integration

http://www.nhstayside.scot.nhs.uk/OurServicesA-Z/HealthandSocialCareIntegration/index.htm