Still here: Doing things differently, working with a VCSE partner, primary care service, library and La Trobe University Australia to pilot and establish a service for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Abstract

A Dementia strategy group met regularly over a year, comprising carers, professionals and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) groups, and gathered views of patients which led to the identification of gaps in service provision. People with MCI described feeling lost in a system between primary care, memory clinic and VCSE and felt that once they had been diagnosed that they were ‘abandoned’ as there was not a pathway for people with their diagnosis. A pilot was established to run a group for people with MCI by psychology, primary care and Age UK Berkshire and with the intention of the VCSE group running the group in the future if the pilot was successful. The six session MCI group used material developed and evaluated in Australia, the La Trobe and Caulfield Hospital Memory group programme (LaTCH memory group) which was supplemented with lifestyle change advice. Results showed significantly greater use of memory strategies post group, and the groups were liked and valued by participants. The pilot showed the benefit of working across agencies and with carers and patients to both identify and meet gaps in service provision.