Dementia Post Diagnostic Support

We asked

People living in Aberdeenshire who have received or are in the process of receiving a diagnosis of dementia, should be offered one year of support to help them and their family. This is known as post diagnostic support. Post diagnostic support is provided by our Older Adult Community Mental Health Teams and was previously also provided by Alzheimer Scotland.

The Partnership ran some engagement sessions in Summer 2023 to hear about and understand people’s experiences of receiving a diagnosis of dementia and the support that followed. We held 3 face to face events in Peterhead, Ellon and Banchory and asked people to complete a survey to give us their views.

We would like to thank everyone who completed the survey or attended a face-to-face session. Your feedback has enhanced our understanding of what is important to people living with dementia and unpaid carers in Aberdeenshire, and we used this information to support some areas of work moving forward.

You said

People with a diagnosis of dementia told us that they found the support provided from the Older Adult Community Mental Health Team’s 'very helpful.'

Families / Relatives told us:

'We had excellent support from CMHT and SALT.'

'Helped with forms and visited, will keep in touch for a year.'

Relative 'with dementia was unaware of support offered but I found it helpful.'

'Wouldn’t have managed without the support of the mental health nurses.'

How we will use your feedback

Your Comments	How Might We Statement	Ongoing or Planned Work
Improved communication and better joined up working.	How might we improve communication between patients and services.	We will continue to improve across our services, working together to promote and support better patient outcomes to ensure people accessing our services feel informed, included and listened to.
It can be difficult to know who to contact as dementia progresses, who the different professionals are and what support they offer.	How might we make it easier for people living with dementia and unpaid carers to know who to contact and what their role is within the team.	We are currently updating our Dementia Aberdeenshire website with information about who to contact and the different professionals who may support you as dementia symptoms progress. We will give all ensure all patients are given details of who to contact when symptoms progress.
Accessing short breaks and respite can be difficult due to lack of service provision.	How might we acknowledge and understand this challenge for people living with dementia and unpaid carers.	We recognise that accessing short breaks and respite presents a significant challenge currently. Within the Partnerships dementia strategy, “Making Connections”, one of our key priorities is caring for carers. During the lifespan of the strategy, we will be taking a closer look at the availability of short breaks and respite to understand the challenges and what actions we can take to better support people living with dementia and unpaid carers.
Group sessions were really useful and provided helpful information	How might we ensure that everyone who wishes to attend an organised group sessions can.	The Partnership currently commission Alzheimer Scotland to provide a variety of groups across Aberdeenshire where people with dementia and unpaid carers can come together to access support and advice. People receiving a diagnosis of dementia should also been given the opportunity to attend group sessions as part of their post diagnostic support, delivered by the Older Adult Community Mental Health Teams.
It would be helpful to gain an insight into the different types of technology that are available to support people living with dementia and unpaid carers.	How might we support people living with dementia and unpaid carers to build confidence when using technology and find out information about the different types of technology available to them.	We have included information about technology on our newly updated Dementia Aberdeenshire website. We are also developing a hands-on technology-room where service users can try out different types of technology and build their confidence. We are also considering organising some pop- up technology demonstration days across Aberdeenshire. As part of our Digital Strategy, we are putting together a new section on the Health and Social Care Partnerships website focusing on Technology Enabled Care.

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Dementia Post Diagnostic Support