Issue - meetings

Report CS15926

In line with a national programme to increase diagnosis rates for dementia,  diagnosis rates in the borough for the last 12 months had risen from 47% to 58% due to work by Oxleas and primary care GP Surgeries. Using funds set aside for dementia within the Better Care Fund, the Council and Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) proposed commissioning to improve, and provide post diagnosis support where this was lacking.

Only a small number of dementia support services in the community (excluding care home beds) were delivered under contract to the Council; most services were provided on a need basis rather than as a response to dementia diagnosis. Although church and other groups provided some support and services, those with dementia lacked a clear pathway to receive advice, guidance, and practical support.

To help bridge gaps in provision, it was intended to establish a dementia support hub, providing a co-ordinated framework of community services. The hub would provide a central point of access to work directly with integrated care networks (ICNs), building on the work of dementia-specialist organisations in Bromley. The post-diagnosis services would include: (i) dementia advice during a first point of contact for those newly diagnosed; (ii) an expanded coping with caring project to improve the knowledge, skills and understanding of those caring for a person with dementia; (iii) dementia information co-ordination; and (iv) support group provision. Post-diagnosis support would also include current contracted services i.e. support to care homes, dementia skills training in Extra Care Homes and coping with caring.

The post diagnosis service and associated services would be established through competitive tender, an anticipated timescale being outlined in Report CS15926. It was recommended that existing service contracts due to expire within the timeframe be extended to 30th June 2016 to ensure service continuity and inclusion of those services in new contracts from 1st July 2016.

Support for dementia sufferers was a target of the borough’s health and wellbeing strategy; in response to increased diagnosis there was a desire to be more organised in the borough. Tender specifications would also be shared with the Health and Wellbeing Board for scrutiny of the new support.

An estimate of diagnosed dementia in the borough was derived from a national estimate extrapolated to a local level, the diagnosis rate in the borough being expressed as a percentage of the local estimate. The level of residents with diagnosed dementia now stood at 67% of the local estimate.

Members supported the recommendations.

RESOLVED that:

 (1)  the proposed service set out at 3.5 of Report CS15926 be approved;

(2)  the procurement approach set out at 3.6 a) of Report CS15926 be approved; and

(3) the extension of contracts set out at 3.6 b) of Report CS15926 be approved.