Health and Wellbeing Board	18 May 2022
Report of the Dementia Lead for City of York Council- Jamaila Hussain, Corporate Director, Adult Social Care

A Dementia Strategy for York

Summary

1. This paper aims to brief members of the Health and Wellbeing Board on the progress being made towards the publication of a Dementia Strategy for the City this summer. This is timely given we are midway through Dementia Awareness Week.

Background

2. The Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2022 and the All Age Mental Health Strategy 2018-2023 both confirm our commitment to being a Dementia Friendly City, with the latter specifically stipulating the need to develop a joint strategy for improving dementia diagnosis and support services.

3. Work has been underway prior to 2017 to develop a Dementia Strategy for the City of York and there has been significant engagement with people with both lived experience, carers and families of people with dementia to understand the current environment and the ambition for Dementia support in the future.

4. Engagement exercises have identified areas of practice in which more immediate solutions have either been identified or warranted, and thus over this period significant work has been, and continues to be undertaken, to develop the support on offer to people with dementia and their carers. This has been the subject of previous update and progress reports to the Health and Well Being Board.

5. Recent examples of such developments include the recruitment of dementia coordinators and a specialist dementia nurse in primary care, and the commissioning of a dementia support service from Dementia Forward (including a Helpline, Dementia Support Advisors, wellbeing activities and young onset dementia support).

Main/Key Issues to be Considered

6. A draft framework for the York Dementia Strategy 2022-2027 is available at Annex A for consideration by the Board.

7. This Framework provides a proposed structure for the York Dementia Strategy. It follows a conventional format and focusses our ambitions for dementia support over the next 5 years within the stages of the national Dementia Well Pathway. Within each stage, the Strategy highlights the current challenges and opportunities, as well as an agreement between stakeholders of what we believe good to look like for dementia support in the City.

8. The detailed information which will sit under the 5 Pathway stages is not here for consideration. This content is currently under consultation with the key partners contributing to the Strategy, with a view to then consult with the York Dementia Collaborative before formal approvals are sought in the next 2 months.

9. The proposed delivery timeline is as follows:

Consultation

10. The draft Dementia Strategy has been produced through a number of engagement events over the last few years. Most recently, the draft has been positioned within the annexed Framework, and this version was shared with key stakeholders in the Dementia Strategy working group on 25 April 2022.

11. A briefing paper went to the Ageing Well Partnership on 26 April 2022 and the Partnership approved the intended timeframe for delivery.

Options      

12. There are no specific options for the Health and Wellbeing Board but they are asked to indicate their support for the proposed delivery timeline at para 9.

Strategic/Operational Plans

13. As described at para 2, the proposal for a York Dementia Strategy is a response to the Health and Wellbeing strategy 2017-2022 and the All Age Mental health Strategy 2018-2023. It is aligned to the Council Plan’s key priority of providing good health and wellbeing for our citizens.  Ageing well and caring for people with dementia are both key priorities in The NHS Long Term Plan.

14. It is anticipated that the Dementia Strategy will be reflected in the refreshed Health and Wellbeing Strategy and within the Health and Care Alliance prospectus.

15. A Dementia Strategy is being developed by the Humber and Vale Integrated Care System’s Dementia Steering Group. The intention is for this Strategy to consider quality issues and associated costs within each stage of the Dementia Pathway, with some focus on improving dementia diagnosis rates, staffing and workforce issues, non-essential hospital admissions and appropriateness of current residential care provision for people with complex needs relating to dementia. The main purpose of the ICS Strategy is to bring a commitment to consistency of support services across the ICS footprint. It is suggested that such a strategy will dovetail with the dementia strategy for York.

        Implications

· Financial: The Strategy does not specify investment in Dementia Support but it is recognised that some ambitions will only be achievable through ongoing consideration of how each system partner can best contribute resources in this area

· Human Resources (HR): As above, the strategy does not specify impact upon Human Resources but it is recognised that some ambitions may require stakeholders to think about how they best use their human resource to achieve the collective goal.

· Equalities: An equalities impact assessment is being undertaken to ensure that that the Strategy complies with the law, by taking account of equality, human rights and socioeconomic disadvantage implications in the decisions made.

· Legal: legal oversight of the final draft will be sought

· Crime and Disorder: There are no crime and disorder implications

· Information Technology (IT): The Dementia Strategy will need to be accessible and easy read. City of York Council communications team are engaged to support with this.

· Property: there are no property implications

        Risk Management

16. There is potential reputational risk to delays in the publication of a Dementia Strategy, as there has been significant public commitment to this for a significant length of time. There are also risks in publishing a Strategy which has not received full commitment from the necessary stakeholders.

        Recommendations

17. The author recommends that the next 2 months are used to ensure a final draft strategy which sets clear and achievable ambitions for the City to provide good support to its residents living with Dementia and their carers.

The Health and Wellbeing Board are asked to indicate their support for this recommendation.

Contact Details

Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Jamaila Hussain Co-author: Abby Hands Head of Transformation City of York Council	Jamaila Hussain Corporate Director, Adults & Integration City of York Council
	Report Approved	ü	Date	09.05.2022
	Chief Officer’s name: Jamaila Hussain
Wards Affected:					All
For further information please contact the author of the report

Annex A: Draft York Dementia Strategy