Agenda item

The Lead Commissioner for Adult Social Care and Commissioning will deliver a presentation on the outcome of consultation and the emerging action plan.

The Lead Commissioner, Adult Social Care and Commissioning, delivered a presentation to provide the Commission Members with an update on the LLR Joint Living Well with Dementia Strategy following the consultation period (attached for information). The presentation is attached for information.

The following points were made:

·         Leicester City Council led the strategy on behalf of the LLR Dementia Programme Board, which has good attendance from all statutory agencies and the VCS.

·         Of the over 200 consultation responses, over 100 people who responded to the consultation lived or worked in Leicester, and those who responded were overwhelmingly in support of the strategy.

·         The strategy looked at 5 key principles which took people living with dementia through different life stages and raised a number of actions, for example, what people could do to look after their own health, for example, lifestyle choices. Some of the themes that were raised in consultation included:

o   Awareness raising of signs and symptoms and different types of dementia would ideally require a public campaign.

o   Families and carers were quite clear they should not be forgotten.

·         The sign-off process for the strategy was complex due to the different organisations involved.

·         The strategy would be put before the City Mayor in November 2018, and through the CCG Boards October / November 2018.

·         A launch of the strategy was planned for January 2019.

·         Individual action plans which underpin the strategy are in draft form currently, and the Council’s action plans would be brought back to a future meeting of the Commission.

·         Officers would ensure all City Council departments would be involved in promoting the Dementia Strategy.

·         Markets and Museums were working towards making events and venues dementia friendly.

The Chair requested that a report on the various degrees and types of dementia be brought to a future meeting of the Commission. The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education informed those present that people were signposted to a webpage on dementia which in turn signposted people to different NHS societies, and the link to the website would be provided to Members.

In response to whether there were any professionally trained nurses for dementia care, the Strategic Director for Social Care and Education said there were no Admiral Nurses as they were known (an independent nursing service) in LPT. Michael Smith, Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire, recommended Dementia Friends training, which had been taken up by some staff at the Council.

The Chair and Vice-Chair expressed a wish to front any campaign arranged to promote dementia awareness. The invitation was extended to the Assistant City Mayor and other Members of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission to be front of the campaign. They added it was important to inform people on where to go for assistance.

The Chair from the whole of the Scrutiny Commission thanked Officers and organisations for their hard work.

It was AGREED that:

1.    The report be noted.

2.    The Council’s action plans for the Dementia Strategy be brought to a future meeting of the Commission.

3.    The links to website information on dementia be provided to Members.

4.    An invitation be extended to Members of the Commission to front a campaign for the promotion of dementia awareness.