Health and social work services

Tender description

A high level summary of the proposed functions of Memory Assessment and Post Diagnostic Support service is as follows: (a) Assessment and Diagnosis; (b) Medicines Optimisation; (c) Post Diagnostic Support. This support may contain a number of elements: 1) Supporting Primary Care: 2) To provide access to a single point of contact for people with dementia and their carers, operational five days a week. 3) Responding to early detection of functional change: 4) Post diagnostic support should be delivered within the context of multi-morbidity; 5) To promote support and inclusion for people with dementia and their carers using the service through provision of support/access to purposeful, stimulating and meaningful activities; 6) Advanced Care Planning; 7) Additional Interventions. (d) Dementia Friendly Community: Take a lead in ensuring the continued recognition of Brighton and Hove as a Dementia Friendly City by raising the profile of dementia and reducing stigma. A high level summary of the proposed functions of Memory Assessment and Post Diagnostic Support service is as follows: (a) Assessment and Diagnosis: The service will provide a single point of access to timely high quality assessment and diagnostic facilities for people of all ages where the predominant presenting concern is cognitive impairment. The CCG expects that the provider ensures, as an absolute minimum, compliance with the national Dementia Diagnosis Rate (DDR) ambition (i.e. that 66.7 % of the estimated prevalence of dementia is met) and a continual improvement in the numbers of people diagnosed within 6 weeks of referral. The CCGs aspiration is to achieve an outstanding rating on the Improvement and Assessment Framework for dementia – and envisages that this newly commissioned model will deliver the improved performance on all metrics. (b) Medicines Optimisation: The provider will deliver a service for initiation, stabilisation and cessation of acetylcholinesterase (AcE) inhibitors. Additionally, for all patients prescribed these medications across the CCG, the service may be required to provide a medication review, at least once a year, in line with NICE guidance. (c) Post Diagnostic Support The provider will be expected to provide life-long support all people diagnosed within the service, as well as all patients on the dementia registers across the CCG. This support may contain a number of elements: 1) Supporting Primary Care: To provide high quality support for primary care on both the management and review of people with dementia; 2) To provide access to a single point of contact for people with dementia and their carers, operational five days a week; 3) Responding to early detection of functional change: During their hours of operation, the service will be expected to provide urgent response for people with dementia and their carers; 4) Post diagnostic support should be delivered within the context of multi-morbidity; 5) To promote support and inclusion for people with dementia and their carers using the service through provision of support/access to purposeful, stimulating and meaningful activities. This offer should be as personalised as possible, with the service providing a range of dementia specific community intervention services to promote psychological, occupational and physical wellbeing; 6) Advanced Care Planning: The service will not have a specific remit to provide end of life care, as people with dementia should have the same access to end of life care services as those without dementia. However the CCG would like to see an increase in the number of PWD offered early, flexible, needs-based end of life care planning while someone has sufficient mental capacity, to maximise quality of life of the person with dementia and their carers, and in line with NICE and NHS England guidance; 7) Additional Interventions: The provider will offer interventions in line with NICE guidance4, which should include, but not be limited to: post diagnostic drop in sessions, peer support groups, education sessions in dementia for patients and advice on capacity decisions. (d) Dementia Friendly Community: The service will take a lead in ensuring the continued recognition of Brighton and Hove as a Dementia Friendly City by raising the profile of dementia and reducing stigma. This may include promoting understanding of dementia and delivery of targeted dementia awareness within specific communities in the city.