City hails launch of pioneering ‘academy’ to treat dementia

The city council claims the new Dementia Academy, a collaboration between 14 organisations, is the first of its kind in the UK and will not only improve the quality of life for people living with the condition, but also reduce the number of admissions to residential care and hospital.

The council said it will act a single point of access for families, carers and professionals, although it will be a “virtual academy” with no permanent base and services will be offered through the premises of its partners.

Coun Rilba Jones, portfolio holder for health and equalities, called it an “academy without walls” and said: “The new academy will provide vital support and training for those caring for someone with dementia as well as raising awareness and understanding with the public and professionals.

“I hope it will enable more accurate and early diagnosis for potential suffers and that they and their carers may be able to make plans accordingly.

“This academy will also support the extra care (specialist housing) project creating extra beds and specialist services for those with Dementia.”

There are an estimated 3,000 people in Hull with dementia, a debilitating condition for which there is a range of treatment but no known cure.

This compares to the 10,572 people in the Humber region who have been diagnosed with dementia, while the Alzheimer’s Society says 634,000 people in England have some form of dementia.

Coun Jones said one expert believes about 60 per cent of people who have the condition have not been diagnosed - a situation she hopes the academy will help address.

She also said about 20 per cent of GPs did not know how best to help people with the condition.

She added: “It’s all about driving up standards. It’s to do with dementia strategy and moving things forward and I feel with the university’s research and all the agencies on board Hull is in a particularly good place to kick it off.”

There will be five strands to the project - dementia care mapping, a support and co-ordination team, a person-centred care team, training, support and workforce development, and dementia ambassadors, who will help guide the use of best practice.

Karen Lynch, dementia strategic lead for the council, said dementia mapping - the observation of patients to see how they respond and engage with care, treatment and their surroundings - will help improve their care and quality of life.

She said: “It enables us to see life through that person’s eyes and we are able to give them a voice when they can’t communicate themselves. The data from their behaviour is analysed and a report is written and we feed that back to the home.

“We are trying to move away from them sitting around all day watching TV and seeing if their psychological needs are being met, and if not how we can meet them. It can’t improve their condition but it can give that person some quality of life and increase their wellbeing.”

Dan Harman, elderly care physician at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, near Cottingham, welcomed the initiative.

He said: “I think it’s excellent for a city of this size, it’s something that Hull has been crying out for. It’s all about early recognition; if we can get in early there’s much more we can do in a preventative fashion.”

The academy’s work will be linked to the “extra care” provision in the city.

The Treasury recently agreed to support the building of three new purpose-built extra care facilities in the city with £84m through the Private Finance Initiative, a much criticised method of funding which uses public money to pay private firms to build and run public buildings.

In total, 215 residential units will be built across Hawthorne Avenue, Leads Road and Hall Road.