Agenda item

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Service Integrated Commissioning, Adults and Health which provides the Outer North East Community Committee with an update on the citywide Leeds Dementia Strategy.

The report of the Head of Service (Integrated Commissioning, Adults and Health) provided an update on the citywide Leeds Dementia Strategy.

The Commissioning Lead, Dementia (Adults and Health, LCC) introduced the item, and provided the Community Committee with a PowerPoint presentation. The following information was highlighted:

• Background information to dementia and its causes. Further information can be found on: www.alzheimers.org.uk
• Statistics within the Outer North East area show 546 dementia diagnoses in 2019 and 562 in 2022. Two thirds of estimated prevalence in Leeds is diagnosed. 
• 85% of people with dementia have a carer: 480 carers for people with dementia in the Outer North East. 160 dementia carers in Outer North East areas are economically active. There is 70 people in the Outer North East who have “severe” dementia and 35 people in Outer North East live at home, with unpaid and paid support.
• There are multiple modifiable risk factors that may reduce the likelihood of developing dementia.
• An overview of the Living with Dementia in Leeds Strategy and the 6 commissioning priorities for health and social care:

o  Service ‘reset’ & recovery from Covid

o  Carer support and breaks

o  Annual review and care co-ordination

o  Demographics, diversity, and emerging needs

o  Care quality, complex needs, timely transfers

o  End-of-life care and planning ahead

• Service recovery from the pandemic was noted to be improving but still ongoing.
• An overview of the dementia prevention, intervention and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission: www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(20)30367-6/fulltext
• Local support to live with dementia including the Alzheimer’s Society, Carers Leeds – 0113 380 4300 (advance line and Dementia carer team) and Neighbourhood Networks.
• The Memory Support Workers are employed by the Alzheimer’s Society and work in teams across the city alongside Community Health staff, Social Workers and with GP practices. Their aim is to be an ongoing named point of contact for people living with dementia and to ensure people can access information, advice, and support. *
• Dementia carer support groups in the area were noted to be in Wetherby and Garforth, with information provided on the Carers Leeds website.

*Referral for a Memory Support Worker – 0113 231 1727, memorysupport.lypft@nhs.net

Dementia Connect support line (includes evening and weekends – 0333 150 3456

The Committee discussed the following:

·  It was noted that Councillors from the Outer North East wards had assisted with joining up facilities during the pandemic, assisting with activity such as contact with loved ones in care homes. Leeds City Council had worked alongside Wetherby in Support of the Elderly (WiSE) during this time.

·  With the noted public transport issues, there are volunteer run schemes in the area to assist with getting people to and from activities and care programmes, however accessibility concerns for the area remain.

·  In response to a question from Members, it was outlined the Outer North East experiences the highest rate of dementia diagnosis per capita.  Because the area has a more affluent population, this is linked to more people reaching very old age, which is the main risk factor for dementia.  However, the ‘age-standardised’ risk of dementia is lower than for inner Leeds / less affluent areas, because of the impact of health inequalities.

·  Members suggested all Leeds City Council employees and Councillors should be encouraged to become a dementia friend or ambassador. Several of the Members in attendance confirmed they were already dementia friendly trained.

·  Social services visits usually end at 5pm daily, if these times could be extended to provide some later night assistance it will improve care provision for patients and carers.

·  As the Outer North East is generally made up of smaller town and village populations, this provides some benefit of greater community support for people living with dementia.

·  It is vital that carers are identified and provided with access to information regarding services available to them for support.  Improving identification and recording of carers on GP patient management systems is an important element of this.

RESOLVED - That the content of the report and presentation, along with members comments be noted.