In this weeks’s edition…
Events
- Older people’s programme: engagement events
- Buurtzorg and a new model of patient centred-care
- Change management blueprint for better
- Dementia: muddling along?
Opportunities
Living well longer: after dementia begins
Dementia awareness week runs from 17-23 May. Organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, this year’s theme is encouraging people to ‘do something new’. The aim is to show it’s not only possible for someone with dementia to hold onto their life and the things they love for longer, they can continue to try new things and have new experiences, too. Hash tags to show support or find out more are #DoSomethingNew and #DAW2015.
There are currently around 850,000 people with dementia in the UK and the number is steadily increasing. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, the financial cost of dementia to the UK is £26 billion per annum.
Improving dementia care is more about ‘care’ than ‘cure’ and with up to half a million fewer older and disabled people in receipt of state-funded social care than in 2009 (according to a London School of Economics report), there is a care gap to fill for communities and citizens.
With the right knowledge and support it is possible for someone with dementia to continue with many of the things they enjoy in life, such as socialising and hobbies, even as the disease progresses.
Dementia friendly
The right knowledge and support is becoming more widely available and easier to access. Nationally more than 60 communities have responded to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia and signed up to work towards becoming dementia friendly. The award winning Dementia Friendly Crawley is one of them and the KSS AHSN team in Crawley are showing their support with dementia awareness training lined up for June.
Collaborative action
Our next Kent, Surrey and Sussex-wide dementia collaborative takes place in the autumn. It will offer a chance to share existing best practice and identify new areas for collaboration.
The work of the collaborative aligns with the ambitions of the region-wide Older People’s Programme which aims to support the health and vitality of older people for longer.
Addressing the challenge of long term conditions
The Basque “chronicity” strategy has been widely recognised as innovative and forward thinking. It achieved a 38% reduction in hospitalisation of patients with complex needs and a 26% decrease in A&E attendance.
On Wednesday 3 June Dr Rafael Bengoa, former Minister of Health for the Basque region (2009-13), will share his experience and learning from leading the region’s long-term conditions strategy. He will be joined by Dr Josep Carbo who led the team that implemented the system changes needed for the strategy to work.
We will look at how to create similar momentum behind our own region’s aspirations to improve the health and well-being of older people, and others, with long-term conditions.
Living well for longer
Regional innovation summit and showcase: living well for longer – our regional conference – is on 23 June 2015. Working with new insight and data, together we will create momentum for accelerating sustainability in older people’s services.
Kind regards,
Guy Boersma
Managing Director
KSS AHSN
Events
Older people’s programme: Sussex engagement event, 21 May 2015
Independence and vitality for longer: improving care and the experience of care for older people in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
The meeting aims to validate the case for change, an agreed vision of future sustainable care arrangements and the support programme of KSS AHSN activity to help you implement sustainable care services faster.
This is a morning event finishing at lunchtime at the Gatwick Hilton.
Please contact Ellie Wells to book a place.
KSS AHSN international seminar series: Buurtzorg and a new model of patient centred-care, 13 July 2015
Buurtzorg Nederland was founded in 2006 to create a new model of patient-centred care, focused on facilitating and maintaining independence for as long as possible. A report in 2010 documented savings of roughly 40% to the Dutch health care system.
On Wednesday 15 July Jos de Blok, the founder of Buurtzorg, is the speaker at our evening seminar. We will discuss how this model of patient-centred care might translate to Kent, Surrey and Sussex. How can we improve the quality of care at the same time as achieving significantly better value for money?
‘Change Management: Blueprint for Better’ Conference, London, 7 July 2015
The opportunity to learn from practitioners with knowledge and experience of leading innovative change initiatives at both local and national scale. Delegates will receive practical advice and inspiration from a range of real-life examples from public and private sector sources to help lead on change management and service improvement.
Dementia: muddling along? – Rochester Building, University of Kent, Medway Campus
Wednesday 10 June, 13:30 – 15:00
This seminar will explore the boundary between normal and abnormal cognition, the significance of subjective memory complaints, the assessment tools available to GPs, ways of providing psychosocial support and handling transitions, management of behavioural & psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), rules of thumb for end of life care and GP and specialist roles.
To book a place, please contact Helen Wooldridge.
Opportunities
MSc in Applied Health Research Scholarships
The Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS), University of Kent are offering three scholarships for part-time study only for the MSc in Applied Health Research. The scholarships are open to all eligible students for part-time study (entry September 2015 over academic years 2015/16 and 2016/17) and will cover tuition fees at the amount of £2,625 per year. If you are a Home/EU applicant the above amount will cover the tuition fees over the two years for the programme; for international students it will cover partially the tuition fees over the two years.
Interviews date: Tuesday 16th June 2015
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For further information on the application process please contact Kalli Glezakou or for academic enquiries please contact Dr Ferhana Hashem.