NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care’s Dementia and Brain Health Delivery Plan for 2023 to 2025.
The purpose of this plan is to work in co-production with partners across Greater Manchester to deliver meaningful reform and quality improvement. We have made dementia a priority through working in partnership with people affected by dementia, across all ten boroughs in Greater Manchester. Read more
Greater Manchester LGBTQ+ Online Dementia Support Group.
Join this support group that meets the first Tuesday of every month 2-3:30 via Zoom. Its a safe and friendly space where you can express yourself and support each other. Find out more
Active inclusion of marginalised communities
We’re committed to advancing equalities in terms of access, experiences and outcomes and are working with locality partnerships to support projects across Greater Manchester: Read more
Brain health & wellbeing funding initiatives (2022/23)
In 2022/23, Dementia United ran three creative health funding initiatives, with awards totalling over £120,000: Bounce Back Fund: aimed at re-opening grass root dementia carer organisations after Covid 19; Creativity in Care Homes in collaboration with Adult Social Care and Creative Health; Big Brain Health Fund: aimed at kick starting creative arts and healthy living projects, with a key focus on sustainability. Read more
Delirium
Delirium is a condition which causes a short-term confused state and develops over hours and days; as a result of underlying illness. People living with dementia are more likely to experience delirium and if undetected and treated, it can lead to much poorer outcomes. Dementia United developed a Greater Manchester approach to delirium with a person-centred pathway and key standards focused on early detection, assessment and treatment. These standards form the basis of the three areas of the delirium work programme outlined as: Community delirium toolkit; Hospital delirium programme and resources; Delirium training and resources. Read more
Dementia Wellbeing Plan Digitisation
Our Dementia Wellbeing Plan promotes personalised planning conversations with people living with dementia and carers about their needs and wants. The plan ensures an improved standard of care planning for people living with dementia and also facilitates sharing across the system. It will be available as a standardised plan which can be accessed and shared digitally between practitioners. Read more
Distressed behaviours
We’re supporting person centred responses to distressed behaviours and complex needs for people living with dementia in Greater Manchester. We believe that increased knowledge and skills for all those affected by dementia will reduce distress and improve quality of life for people. Read more
Education and training
Supporting the provision of dementia related training across Greater Manchester is one of our key strategic aims. Training for all who work with people affected with dementia is expected to improve outcomes across all areas of our Greater Manchester Dementia Care Pathway We believe it’s important that people living with dementia and carers can access relevant training and education when they need it. Read more
Palliative and end of life care
We’re supporting the provision of good end of life care for people across Greater Manchester who are affected by dementia. We believe that people living with dementia should receive the right support to enable them to die with dignity in a place of their choosing. Read more
Healthy Homes
Healthy Homes is a crucial part of improving the lives of people with dementia and their carers – for better or worse, housing has an enormous impact on our lives. Whether through making the home more suitable for people diagnosed with dementia or by building stronger coalitions for a more diverse housing offer in Greater Manchester, our approach is characterised by partnership working, innovation and an approach which puts the person (and their rights) at the centre of our plans. Find out more about how our approach can help support people living with dementia and their carers through housing. Read more
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a thinking and memory difficulty that is not significant enough to interfere with your daily life but is a recognisable change for you and those around you. It is estimated to affect 6-36% of people over 60 years, with 6-15% developing dementia annually. There is no NICE guidance on how to diagnose and manage MCI and what happens after you receive a diagnosis varies across Greater Manchester. Our MCI project aims to address the uncertainty around MCI diagnosis and post diagnosis; whilst embracing opportunities to make positive lifestyle changes and to be involved in research that may lead to the prevention or delay of dementia. Read more
Quality of diagnosis
Being given a diagnosis of dementia is a life-changing event for anyone. We want to improve this experience for people in Greater Manchester and will create guidance to support practitioners when giving a diagnosis: Read more
Research
Help shape the future of dementia care and support. During these challenging times, as we all try to adapt to a new normal, keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe is at the top of everyone’s priority list, especially if yourself or a loved one is living with dementia. The challenges social distancing bring for those with a dementia are wide-reaching and as varied as the disease itself; that’s why it’s so important that we hear from patients and carers in this challenging time to help us understand their needs and concerns. Dementia and COVID-19 research is adapting, offering patients new, safe, ways to ensure their voices are heard and enabling researchers to understand individual concerns about the impact COVID-19 has had on their lives. For those who have the capacity and time, Join Dementia Research offers access to a number of studies which can be completed online or over the phone, you can find out more by calling the Alzheimer’s society on: 0333 150 3456, Alzheimer’s Research UK on: 0300 111 5 111 or visiting their website: www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk
Young Onset and Rarer Forms of Dementia
We’re working to improve the quality of experience from pre-diagnosis through to post diagnostic support for people with young onset (i.e. under 65 years of age) and rarer forms of dementia eg frontotemporal dementia: Read more
Locality projects
Dementia United was able to award up to £10,000 to each locality in Greater Manchester to support an innovative project relating to one or more of the Dementia United key focus areas or golden threads. It was intended that the locality projects would be innovative, have sustainable outcomes and be transferable across Greater Manchester and/or regionally or nationally. Read more