The challenge prize aims to identify innovative ways of integrating dementia care by redesigning services around the needs of patients, improving diagnosis and reducing both the number of hospital attendances and the amount of time patients spend in hospital. Winners will receive national recognition for their achievements and their approach might be spread to other areas of the country.

The competition is open to anyone working in dementia care – from GPs, specialist nurses and social workers to support workers, charities and patient support groups.

Entrants will need to demonstrate clearly how they are working as a seamless multidisciplinary team, with a least one other organisation from a different sector, and provide evidence of the positive impact the integrated service is having on the lives of patients and their carers.

Judging will also take into account:

• improved clinical outcomes
• value for money
• whether the idea is easily transferable
• whether changes are achievable within a reasonable timescale
• whether the idea, service or product is new to the NHS or social care, or can be applied in a new way

Professor Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia at NHS England, said:

“We need to see a shift in the way dementia care is organised and delivered in the UK if we are to deliver better outcomes for people with dementia, and their carers, and help them live well with dementia.

“People with dementia and their carers want, and deserve, integrated health and social care approaches which fit their lifestyles and allow them to access services when it suits them, not when it suits the service. It’s crucial, therefore, that care is co-ordinated, person-centred and tailored to individual need.

“We know that great examples of excellent care already exist and we look forward to seeing a number of high quality submissions from across the dementia community. The ultimate goal is to find innovative and novel approaches which can have a measurable impact on outcomes for people with dementia, and which can be replicated nationally.”

The deadline for submissions is midday on 4 September 2013. For more information about the prize see the NHS Challenge Prizes site.

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Our shared ambition is to make a real and positive difference to the lives of people affected by dementia. We want to ensure that people with dementia and their carers receive high quality, compassionate care whether they are at home, in hospital or in a care home. We want the person with dementia, and their family and carer, to be at the heart of everything we do. We also want their wellbeing and quality of life to be first and foremost in the minds of those commissioning and providing services for them.

Building on the National Dementia Strategy, we want England to be amongst the best in the world in dementia care and research. A society where people with dementia can say:

• I was diagnosed in a timely way.
• I know what I can do to help myself and who else can help me.
• Those around me and looking after me are well supported.
• I get the treatment and support, which are best for my dementia, and for my life.
• I feel included as part of society.
• I understand so I am able to make decisions.
• I am treated with dignity and respect.
• I am confident my end of life wishes will be respected. I can expect a good death.
• I know how to participate in research.

By 2015, we want to see significant increases in research funding, diagnosis rates and the number of dementia friendly communities.

Find out about the champion groups’ progress so far.

Find out more about the champion groups’ progress report.

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• Since the formal launch of Dementia Friends in February 2013, over 2247 people have signed up to train as volunteer Dementia Friends Champions, with over 500 people already trained.
• Over 50 cities, towns and villages are already taking local action to become dementia friendly, more than doubling our original ambition of 20 cities, towns and villages signed up to be dementia friendly by 2015. Fifteen of these communities are now part of a pilot phase for the recognition process for dementia friendly communities.
• Alzheimer’s Society is working in partnership with the Dementia Action Alliance to establish local dementia action alliances across the country. Over 20 Local Dementia Action Alliances have been established, bringing together organisations to take responsibility for improving the lives of people with dementia and carers in their area.
• A dementia education pioneer programme was launched with 21 schools across the country, which are testing different approaches to educating children and young people about dementia. The findings from this pioneer group are being written up to be made available to all schools that wish to participate from the forthcoming autumn term.
• A nationwide campaign to raise awareness of dementia, and encourage people to visit their GP if they are worried about it, ran at the end of 2012, reaching out to over 37 million people.

Read about the next steps for the dementia friendly communities champion group.

For more details of the champion groups’ work, read the full report.

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• NHS England (NHSE) has set the first ever national ambition to improve dementia diagnosis rates. By 2015, our aim is that two-thirds of people should have a diagnosis, with appropriate post diagnosis support.

• There is a new Enhanced Service for take up by GPs as part of the new GP contract for 2013/14 to reward practices for having a pro-active, case finding approach to the assessment of patients who may be showing the early signs of dementia.

• The government’s response to Dilnot and the reforms to the social care system will begin to make a difference once implemented in 2016.

• The Dementia Care and Support Compact has been launched with major care providers to improve care and support for people with dementia living at home and in care homes. There are now more than 148 signatories, representing nearly 3,000 care services.

• Public Health England has named dementia as one of its high-level priorities for 2013/14, in recognition of the important role public health can play in the delivery of better dementia care and support.

• Establishing and beginning to embed the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) reward for hospitals – offering dementia risk-assessments to all over-75s admitted to hospital – has led to over 4,000 people a month being referred for further investigation, for example to a memory service. From April 2013, the CQUIN reward has been extended to the quality of dementia care delivered and support for carers of people with dementia. Trusts have also been asked to appoint a senior clinical lead for dementia, who will be responsible for ensuring that staff are trained in dementia care.

• 116 acute trusts and 20 non-acute trusts have committed to becoming dementia friendly hospitals, working in partnership with their local Dementia Action Alliance.

Read the next steps for the health and care champion group.

For more details of the champion groups’ work, read the full report.

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• There has been a major expansion of the neuroscience programmes at the world-leading Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). Resources have been increased by 50% with a major part dedicated to research on dementia and neurodegeneration.
• £22 million of additional funding has been put into 21 pioneering research projects through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
• The NIHR Translational Research Collaboration has been created, which brings together the country’s leading dementia research facilities to collaborate in translating discoveries from basic scientific dementia research into benefits for patients.
• A call to fund up to £13 million national or international social science research proposals in preventing dementia was launched in July 2012 with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department of Health.
• The MRC is providing £9.6 million for a pilot study involving 8,000 volunteers as the first phase of a brain imaging programme that will ultimately scan the brains of 100,000 Biobank participants.
• On 10 October 2012, we brought together the UK’s research system to showcase this country’s dementia research and resources. The event proved an important step in developing industry’s interest in an area where there are no easy ‘quick wins’. Eight different companies are involved in collaborations as a result of the event across a range of different dementia research questions. In parallel, MRC has engaged with pharmaceutical companies towards the establishment of a new public-private partnership focused on target validation and experimental medicine in dementia research. Nine companies are currently engaged in advanced discussions, with a budget of up to £12 million identified to deliver this initiative.
• To help increase the proportion of people with dementia having the opportunity to participate in research, two tools have been developed: ENRICH, a toolkit for care home research providing simple, practical advice for researchers, care home staff and others; and a ‘consent-for-approach’ list through which people with dementia and their carers will be offered the opportunity to register their interest in being contacted about research.

Read the next steps for the research champion group.

For more details of the champion groups’ work, read the full report.

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