Bolton locality projects
Enhancing the Bolton Dementia Action Alliance and empowering local communities to build on the work of the alliance
What we did
- Ran nine Bolton Dementia Action Alliance meetings and sessions to promote awareness and build networks
- Attended and presented at Bolton’s Ageing Well conference
- Collaborated with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and faith organisations to raise awareness of dementia and promote the work of the Dementia Action Alliance
Evaluation results
- Establishing leadership buy-in from Dementia Action Alliance members to form a self-governing and sustainable model proved challenging. The majority of alliance members see value in participating in, and contributing to, the network from a professional or personal standpoint. However, they didn’t feel that having a more formal role would be beneficial. They wanted to learn about best practice from other areas to support them to further shape their action plan, so arranged a visit the Bay dementia uub in Lancaster in March 2020. Sadly the visit was cancelled due to Covid-19
Carers Talk & Connect – providing talking therapies to support carers to develop resilience and coping strategies
What we did
- Increased availability of appointments for carers requiring support from trained members of staff
- Pro-active targeting of carer support resources via networks in the Dementia Action Alliance to increase reach
- Increase in printed and digital carer support resources
Evaluation results
We saw an increase in engagement carers and an increase in enquiries from carers for services. We were able to develop closer links with other service providers through networks in the Dementia Action Alliance. The targeted resources proved successful and will be used for future projects.
Recommendations
- Learn from other areas who have a successful Dementia Action Alliance with an active membership
- Having a single point of contact for carers when they first access the service enables the service to establish what the need is and identify the most suitable method of support
- It’s important that the service is flexible and able to offer a range of support, formats and materials to fit around the needs of the carer