Pioneering dementia serviceis finalist in national awards

The Primary Care Service, Bexhill, Hastings, St Leonards and Seaford, was a finalist in the innovation for dementia services category in the National Dementia Care Awards.

The scheme sees community support workers from East Sussex County Council working directly with GPs to offer help and support to people with dementia and their carers.

It has helped people with dementia and their carers get better access to services in the community and keep up with their medications while reducing the number of missed medical appointments and unnecessary hospital admissions and GP home visits.

The service is a pilot project running as part of Healthy Hastings and Rother, a scheme set up by NHS Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group to tackle health inequalities in the area.

Cllr Carl Maynard, county council lead member for adult social care and health, said: “The nature of their condition means people with dementia may find it hard to keep up with appointments and access services which could benefit them.

“This nomination is a richly-deserved accolade for a project which aims to put people with dementia first and ensure they, and their carers, get all the help they need to manage their condition.”

The project, which initially ran as a twelve month pilot, has now been extended for a further two years.