Via Guardian article ‘Dementia sufferers benefit from person-centred public services’, Wednesday 7 July 2010.

Thinkpublic, a public sector design agency, worked with the Alzheimer’s Society in Sheffield, to establish a strategy for meeting the challenges of frontline service provision as a third sector body, mobilising the trust and experience they have built up over years of working with people with dementia to create a fully co-produced service and attract NHS funding under the national strategy.

Nicola Jacobson, a dementia advisor in Sheffield, who has worked for the society for three years, says she can see a shift in focus:

“The key change is that now we’re putting the person at the centre of the service, not the carer … The full impact has not yet been fully evaluated, but the feeling is that the advisers reduce hospital admissions, care visits – and enable people with dementia to remain in their own homes for longer.

Delivering the service this way means we can focus on quality of life, and be a service provider in the widest sense. It’s not just health and social care – we recommend social clubs, organise walking groups, and help people connect with their local communities.

Early intervention is key, too – my youngest client is 40, with two young children. We also can provide services and advice to people before diagnosis to make sure they’re getting the right advice and support and before they reach crisis point and need a hospital admission or GP visit.”

» Read more in the Guardian article ‘Dementia sufferers benefit from person-centred public services’.