The project is about establishing sustainable dementia friendly communities across the county of Hampshire, reaching as full a range of different communities as possible. This is a county wide project covering all five of the Clinical Commissioning Groups in Hampshire.

The project will support the delivery of a number of the key priority areas for the Innovations Fund, namely:

• Dementia Friendly Communities;
• Improving diagnosis;
• Community based care; and
• Carers.

This is a new and evolving area of work and the intention is that an identified project provider will work in close partnership with key stakeholders, including people with dementia and their carers, to deliver the project on behalf of partners.  The work is developmental in nature and may adapt as the project progresses.  Work in Hampshire is at the forefront of national developments

This project will build on the learning from an innovative locality pilot project and develop more dementia friendly communities in Hampshire.

Innovations in dementia define a dementia friendly community as one in which it is possible for the greatest number of people to live a good life with dementia; where people with dementia are enabled to live as independently as possible and to continue to be part of their community, but at the same time are met with understanding and given support where necessary.

Deliverables

• groups of empowered people with dementia and their carers who will have a voice and role in developing services and support that enable them to “live well” with dementia.
• an engaged community enthusiastic about and supportive of people with dementia that promotes inclusivity in its universal services such as leisure centres, opticians, shops, restaurants, hairdressers etc.
• A Dementia Action Alliance for Hampshire.
• Piloting of Dementia Friendly/ Memory Aware High Street schemes.
• Identification of Community Dementia Champions and the establishment of a sustainable network of champions.

Funding has already been secured for the first 12 months of this project. A further 12 months, i.e. starting March 2014, will allow us to maximize our reach in terms of the full breadth of geographical and communities of interest across the county, with specific focus being given to traditionally excluded groups in the second year of the project. By taking a county wide approach it will also ensure that we are not reinventing wheels and are spreading the learning as we progress.

In addition, Devon County Council are leading a bid for European Union funding for their work on developing dementia friendly communities and we are intending to be a partner in that bid. If successful, this would provide half of the first year’s funding and would offer increased opportunities for sharing with and learning from the other partners in the bid, including a number of French localities.

Anticipated outcomes

• There will be a shared understanding of what constitutes a dementia-friendly community across Hampshire.
• People with dementia and their carers will have been at the heart of deciding what this means in their communities.
• Hampshire will have:
  • groups of empowered people with dementia and their carers who will have a voice and role in developing services and support that enable them to “live well” with dementia.
  • an engaged community enthusiastic about and supportive of people with dementia that promotes inclusivity in its universal services such as leisure centres, opticians, shops, restaurants, hairdressers etc.
• The project will have built in sustainable mechanisms for continuing developments once the project has ended, for example developing a Dementia Action Alliance for Hampshire, identifying community dementia champions and cascading approaches.
• A positive impact for people with dementia and their carers in terms of “living well” with dementia. This will contribute to ongoing clinical and cost effective evidence base.

New Dementia Advisor Services are starting in Hampshire in October 2012, and the development of more dementia friendly communities should work in tandem with these services to meet outcomes associated with prevention, early intervention, maintaining independence, addressing stigma and access difficulties and delaying the need for more intensive support. Thus providing a two-pronged, empowering approach, promoting choice, control and self directed support.

Progress update

Locations for 3 High Streets have been identified across Hampshire plus options for location of a market town scheme in place. All co-ordinators have been trained as dementia friend’s champions and have started dementia train the trainer