“We are very grateful to the Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust for their generous donation of £7,000 towards the Professional and Practice Development (PPD) costs for two Admiral Nurses in the West London Admiral Nurse service.
Life for people with dementia currently
The pandemic was a traumatic experience for people living with dementia. Families were left isolated and vulnerable. The long-term impact was a huge backlog of people without a diagnosis, which continues to prevent carers from accessing support. The care system itself is at breaking point, and even after a diagnosis people do not have the specialist care and advice they need. Now the cost-of-living crisis is adding unprecedented additional stress onto carers who have already lived through enormous hardship. Families, who are unable to access services, adult social care or their GP, are soldiering on – until they hit a brick wall and find themselves in crisis. We are seeing this manifest in an increasing demand for our Admiral Nurse services and an escalating number of complex calls to our Helpline from desperate families.
About our West London Admiral Nurse service
There are a shortage of specialist support services for people living with dementia in West London. Across the three London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, there are 105,600 people aged over 65, and 4,411 people registered with a diagnosis of dementia in the region – a much higher prevalence than the average across England. Working across the three boroughs, our new West London Admiral Nurse service will ensure that people living with dementia and their families receive high-quality specialist dementia care, supporting the whole family from diagnosis to post bereavement, while also supporting local health and social professionals.
Progress in the service to date
Two Admiral Nurses have been successfully recruited to the service, to work in the boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. The service is currently in the set-up phase. Metrics have been established for evaluation, to demonstrate the impact of service. These will include:
- Carer wellbeing
- Impact on other healthcare professionals
- Monitoring of activities
- Caseload numbers and demographics of individuals supported
- Numbers of referrals to and from the service, as well as referral source and reason
- Monitoring of direct clinical activities provided, including numbers of families supported, the duration of contacts, and the numbers of advance care plans offered and completed
- Numbers of activities supporting the best practice of other healthcare professionals, including the number and type of training sessions and numbers and type of staff trained
In addition, both Admiral Nurses have undertaken a process of engagement with key stakeholders within the boroughs they will work, including referral pathways.
Professional and practice development support
The Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust generously supported the Professional and Practice Development (PPD) costs for two Admiral Nurses in the West London Admiral Nurse service. Our dedicated PPD programme, which ensures every Admiral Nurse is continually learning, supported, and sharing best practice across their working environment and beyond. It ensures our nurses maintain their high level of expertise and provide families with the best possible support.
Conclusion
We are very grateful for the support of the trustees of Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust for the Professional and Practice Development costs of two Admiral Nurses in our new West London Admiral Nurse service. Your support will enable our Admiral Nurses to provide vulnerable people living with dementia in the region with the best possible care. Thank you.”