NHS Gloucestershire has been working with Gloucestershire County Council, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, the independent sector and voluntary organisations to develop a strategic work programme to drive local implementation of the National Dementia Strategy.

A multi-agency Project Management Board has been established to oversee this programme, and to take responsibility for commissioning high quality, accessible and flexible services to meet the needs and preferences of Gloucestershire’s residents as close to home as possible.

The strategy highlights that primary care staff, and GPs in particular, play a pivotal role in diagnosing dementia and in subsequently co-ordinating care across a range of services. It stresses that there is a huge responsibility on all primary care staff, including receptionists, pharmacists and practice nurses, to understand and be aware of the symptoms and signs of dementia and to develop explicit referral links between primary care and community support.

An action plan has been produced outlining the key objectives being addressed within primary care. The overarching aims are to raise knowledge and expertise, improve data quality, clarify referral pathways, standardise contractual obligations and define commissioning support packages.

The primary care engagement work includes:

• GP leadership for dementia
• extensive training across sectors and providers
• awareness raising activities
• annual countywide Summit
• carers education
• working with pharmacy advisers, and
• development of the QOF framework to improve the quality of dementia registers and recording, working with Primary Care Managers to include dementia and carers’ issues in QOF practice visits

Download: Gloucestershire dementia strategy