A new dementia strategy will be considered by the Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet next week.
The Isle of Wight Dementia Strategy sets out plans to improve the health and well-being of Islanders living with dementia, ensuring that they, and their families and carers, are supported.
Local voluntary and community organisations including the Dementia Awareness Partnership, Age UK Isle of Wight, Alzheimer Café IOW, Carers IW and Healthwatch Isle of Wight have led on the development of the strategy, helped by many other local organisations including Mountbatten Hospice, Independent Arts and the Alzheimer’s Society.
In addition, the strategy has been shaped by direct input from people living with dementia and their carers. The strategy has been produced by the council in partnership with the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and will be adopted by all 3 organisations.
Dementia is fast becoming the UK’s largest health and social care challenge. There is an estimated 2,655 people over the age of 65 living with dementia on the Island and The Alzheimer Society estimates that this figure will increase to 3920 by 2030.
There are around 15,000 unpaid family and friends caring for people on the Island. Of this, 32.5 per cent of which are caring for someone with dementia.
There are 5 main themes to the strategy:
- Preventing Well – minimising the risk of dementia.
- Diagnosing Well – through timely, accurate diagnosis, personalised care planning and review within the first year of diagnosis.
- Supporting Well – People living with dementia and their carers will have support to access safe and high-quality health and social care.
- Living Well – helping people to live full, independent and active lives in safe and accepting communities friendly communities; more flexible respite to meet the needs of people with dementia and their carers.
- Dying Well – helping support people with dementia to die with dignity in a place of their choosing, and support for family and carers before, during and after a person with dementia dies.
Councillor Karl Love, Cabinet lead for health and social care, said:
“The aim of the new strategy is to improve the experience, trying to make real life difference to Island people living with dementia and for their families.
“Dementia is an unforgiving disease. The emotional impact of having to deal with loss of independence and fears for how it will progress is a frightening, heart-breaking and an unimaginable burden on the affected person and on their family. They are the experts by experience in this condition and we have listened to them and make positive changes where we can.
“This strategy could not have been developed without their views and the help of the local organisations gathering evidence and feedback on the ground and I am extremely grateful to them.”
If approved at Cabinet, the next steps are to develop and put in place a delivery plan for the strategy. You can view the paper here.
What a joke. I have been waiting 18 months to get my mother’s dementia confirmed. She has now been sent a letter saying she has been added to the waiting list but it will be 12 months at least before she will be seen. It is destroying our lives and the council don’t have a clue. Just keep dishing out platitudes. As for Love, what a waste of space.