Tees Esk & Wear Valley (TEWV) Mental health trust and Blackhall and Peterlee Practice in Blackhall, East Durham are working in partnership to provide dementia assessment and review service for a patient list size of nearly nine and a half thousand patients.
Whilst mental Health services for older people in Easington provides the staff, the practice provides the infrastructure in this venture that has received great feedback from both patients and professionals.
People being referred to memory clinic , now are seen usually within a week at a place that has been a part of their lives i.e, their GP surgery.
This has eliminated IT barriers and enhanced communication, quality of referrals, reviews and follow ups. Any follow up actions are passed to each other on the same day reducing any delays.
Carer support and training is also being provided and focused groups are in the process of being launched. Physical support and carer checks are also being streamlined.
The pilot is now entering into next phase of being extended to a wider population group.
Immense contribution from Michael Curtis, Judith Brown and Carl Bashford of TEWV.
Immense thanks to Gillian Magee and Antony white as well as the staff and partnership of Blackhall and Peterlee practice.