Welsh NHS launches plan to improve dementia services
2010-05-17 10:00:00
Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart has published four new action plans that aim to improve services for people suffering from dementia. The plans will each tackle a separate area:
- Enabling earlier diagnosis
- Shortening hospital stays
- Reducing the inappropriate use of anti-psychotic drugs
- Improving the availability and quality of support services.
Around 37,000 Welsh people are believed to have dementia, with this figure expected to reach 50,000 within the next 20 years. Ms Hart comments: ‘The action plans show clearly how services must work together to...meet the anticipated increase in demand over the coming years. My focus is to ensure we improve patient care...I expect the NHS to work with other organisations to deliver the necessary changes.’
In related news, the Welsh NHS has just launched the 1,000 Lives Plus Programme which aims to improve patient safety, with dementia services being one of the Programme’s key target areas. The new scheme will take up where its predecessor, 1,000 Lives, left off and work to improve the quality of all NHS services in Wales, but especially dementia care and maternity services.