Sheffield’s 13 ways of improving the lives of people with dementia

 

Help improve the care and support for people living with – or caring for those living with – dementia in Sheffield.

Public, voluntary, community and private sector organisations across the city have worked together to develop 13 commitments around dementia care and support. These commitments aim to make sure that people with dementia, their families and their carers, can live life to its full potential.

There are approximately 7,000 people currently living with dementia in Sheffield, just over 1% of the whole of the city’s population. These 13 commitments proposed by Sheffield organisations will create a structure for our strategy as a city to respond to the ‘Prime Minister’s 2020 Challenge on Dementia’, released in 2015.

The commitments have been inspired by national guidance, as well as conversations had with people living with dementia, carers, health and social care professionals and volunteer groups.

These initial conversations confirmed that the people of Sheffield placed importance on being involved in decisions about their care, access to clear information, creating welcoming environments and being supported to live independently at home and in the community.

Using this information, the 13 commitments have been shaped with the aim of boosting the city’s existing accomplishments around dementia care, as well as introducing a number of new initiatives such as inter-generational programmes in the community, use of new technologies for earlier diagnosis and independence, as well as increasing awareness of ways to prevent and delay dementia.

To ensure these commitments meet the needs of the city, everyone in Sheffield is now invited to share their thoughts.

Dr Steve Thomas, Sheffield GP and Clinical Lead for NHS Sheffield CCG said: “These 13 commitments are currently our first draft - we want to know what you think about them and how you think we might achieve them together as a city.

“It is likely that at some point most of us will have a connection to someone who has been affected by dementia – and we want to improve the lives of the 7,000 or so people who live with dementia in Sheffield.

“Sharing your experiences and ideas will help us make sure that together we’re committing to the right things; it’s important that we take everyone’s different experiences of dementia into account, so we get our commitments right first time.”

To read the commitments and have your say, please visit the website and fill out the short survey. Submissions are open until Friday 18 January.