The stage 2 capital application form is now available to apply for funding of up to £50 million to improve the surroundings of people living with dementia.

The successful projects will begin from April 2013 and will involve people with dementia, their families and carers, to make sure the designs meet their needs.

Download

• Stage 2 dementia capital application form
• Application guidance
• A letter from David Flory, Deputy NHS Chief Executive, which provides an overview of the project and a summary of the timeline.

The stage 2 application should be completed and submitted to DH by 17:00 on 30 April 2013 by email to DementiaCapital@dh.gsi.gov.uk. Bids received after this deadline will not be considered.

Background

The projects will form part of a national pilot to showcase the best examples of dementia friendly care environments. The lessons learnt from the projects will advise local Health and Wellbeing Boards on how to create better environments for dementia care.

Evidence from recent research undertaken by the King’s Fund shows that dementia friendly design features might include:

• hi-tech sensory rooms using lighting, smells and sound to stimulate people’s senses
• large photos of local scenes from the past to prompt people’s memories
• specially adapted outside space to prevent people from wandering, by helping them keep busy and active with activities such as gardening
• technology such as day/night clocks and controllable mood lighting to emulate day and night, which can help with sleep patterns, orientation and safe movement
• calming colours, non-reflective surfaces, large-print signs and the creation of zones to help people know where they are and find their way back to their rooms