Co-production, co-design and co-construction of dementia policy

I will be giving a talk on “Co-production, co-design and co-construction of dementia policy”

to book tickets and for venue details please see here

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/iamsocialwork-presents-iamacademia-tickets-19749806202

Here is the list of speakers for my night!

Jo Moriarty (Researcher, Policy at Kings)
Professor Jill Manthorpe (Professor of Social Work at Kings College London)
Dr. Julia Warrener (Herts Uni Professional Academic Lead for Social Work)
Dr. Shibley Rahman (Author, Dementia Researcher)
Sharon Shoesmith (Researcher, Writer, Public Speaker).

The timing of speakers for Feb 3rd 2016 is as follows 6-9:30pm
6pm arrival
6:30-45 Zoe
6:45-7:30 Jo and Jill
7:30-8 Julia
8-8:20 Break/food
8:20-50 Shibley

The flyer is here.

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There will be pizzas on the night for anyone wondering about food and refreshments will be free – wine, snacks, tea and coffee. That should keep the energy high.

The line up (apart from me) is incredible. I do strongly urge you to come if you’re around and you’re interested in the topic of continuing to pursue research and evidence to better practice. I hope there to be much much engagement and participation for my talk, aimed at qualified social workers or social workers in training.

Please follow the organiser Zoe Betts (@iamsocialcare). Zoe’s motivation for doing this is described here in this excellent Community Care article.

Here is my presentation

Vlog on @KateSwaffer’s “What the hell happened to my brain?” (pub Jan 21, 2016)

I received this morning my copy of “What the hell happened to my brain?” written by leading international advocate in dementia, Kate Swaffer. This book is due to be released by Jessica Kingsley Publishers on January 21st 2016. I received an advance copy as I wrote one of the Forewords. The other Forewords have been written by Dr Richard Taylor Ph.D. and Glenn Rees AM Chair of Alzheimer’s Disease International.

Kate is Chair of Dementia Alliance International, the international stakeholder group run by people living with dementia. I feel this book will be incredibly useful for a diverse audience, including doctors – especially those completing specialist training in medicine (general medicine, neurology, psychiatry, surgery especially) – as well as members of the public newly diagnosed with dementia.

I know Kate Swaffer held Dr Richard Taylor Ph.D. in very high esteem. I found the chapter dedicated to him, and his Foreword, very moving.

This book is all about living ‘beyond a diagnosis of dementia” – Kate’s phraseology TM. Kate was the first to articulate and explain the phenomenon of ‘prescribed disengagement’ how people at the point of diagnosis are often put into a process of managed decline when they could be given opportunities for an enriched life. This of course goes together with essential practical help, such as things you can do such as driving. It also explodes myths out of the water – and ignites a provocative debate on the ‘big money’ in dementia, disability discrimination, an urgent need to rework the medical label of ‘challenging behaviours’, early vs late diagnosis, stigma, loneliness, inclusion, and guilt.

It’s not hyperbolic, nor puffery, to claim that you won’t be able to put this book down. It’s an outstanding book, and I strongly commend it to you.

 

Dr Shibley Rahman  London : 15 January 2016

 

 

An innovative programme to encourage extensive knowledge sharing: the HE KSS/BSMS Primary Care Dementia Fellowship Programme

The HE KSS/BSMS (Health Education Kent Surrey and Sussex / Brighton and Sussex Medical School) have launched the “Primary Care Dementia Fellowship Programme”.

This is a programme for GPs, practice nurses and staff, and community nurses in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

(Health Education Kent Surrey and Sussex will provide the funding to release Fellows to attend a regional skills development programme that will run from March to September 2014.

The Fellows will join with doctors and nurses from Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) to build the knowledge and skills needed for them to create better dementia services in KSS.

Prof Sube Banerjee and Breda Flaherty of Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) are leading this initiative based on their successful experience in the NHS London Deanery.

It appears that the main aim is to build a network of Fellows who can act as ‘change catalysts’ (my words not theirs), to spread best contemporaneous practice in dementia care.

It’s important as dementia is one of the top five strategic priorities in the KSS Skills Development Strategy.

Modules will be led by Banerjee and Flaherty, with contributions from clinical experts in dementia; colleagues in social care; people in the care home sector; NGOs; persons living with dementia and carers; specialists in service development; commissioners and researchers.

I believe that such a course will have considerable competitive advantage in being totally disruptive in how traditional training for juniors in dementia is conducted.

The value is clearly in the collaborative ties between members of the network. By lowering the cultural barriers in this way, the team at Sussex have something very special here.

The set-up is perfect for boundary-less knowledge sharing, and this is enormously value as we all get to grips with what the priorities in local and national policy in dementia might be.

There are three modules running from March to June: good practice in dementia assessment and care, good practice in dementia, and changing practice.

These are followed by a ‘Next Steps’ conference and a period of evaluation and research.

Such an approach might become paradigmatic for future learning in the NHS in dementia.