Living well with dementia in the East Midlands

The Department of Health published Living Well with Dementia - A National Strategy in February 2009

Following the launch of the national strategy, the Joint Improvement Partnership, NHS East Midlands and Department of Health established a collaborative programme "We're in it Together".

At the heart of this process were people living with dementia and together with commissioners, the third sector and local providers across health and social care began a process of improving outcomes for people living with dementia and their carers.

The collaborative programme began by mapping and reviewing current service provision, developing a vision of what good services would look like from the perspective of people living with dementia and their carers. Joint actions, plans and a range of products to support implementation can we viewed on the website.

There is also information on the Towards Excellence website. Towards Excellence is the NHS collaborative programme for improving health services in the East Midlands.

In July 2011 the Department of Health published a Dementia Commissioning Pack. Its' purpose is to assist the implementation of local dementia strategies by providing a range of tools, guidance and resources to improve commissioning. It is intended for a variety of audiences, including Clinical Commisssioning Groups, Local Authorities, Health and Wellbeing Boards, Healthwatch, individuals and their families. The pack focuses on outcomes and includes a self-assessment audit, commissioning framework, model service, specifications, cost benefit analysis tools and introductory handbook.