Supporting people with young onset dementia during a pandemic
© ThitareeSarmkasat via Getty Images
Nottinghamshire Healthcare ’ s Working Age Dementia Service had to adapt to meet the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic . Susan Mann explains the process the team went through to move groups online
The Working Age Dementia Service ( WAD ) for Nottingham City , Nottinghamshire County and Bassetlaw is for people under the age of 65 who have a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of dementia . We provide assessment , diagnosis , intervention and post-diagnosis support , and referrals to the service are usually via the client ’ s GP .
Dementia UK ( 2021 ) estimate that there are 42,000 people with working age dementia , also known as young onset dementia , in the UK .
The WAD post-diagnosis service is a small team , consisting of a full-time team leader / clinical nurse specialist , a full-time senior occupational therapist , two part-time occupational therapists , one community psychiatric nurse , two full-time technical instructors and a peer support lead .
The service works with clients and their families to develop a care plan , which will include helping to manage symptoms and maintain independence . Prior to the pandemic , WAD post-diagnostic support was mainly through face-to-face groups , with home-based assessment and treatment when necessary .
The three face-to-face groups we offered were ‘ Managing changes ’ ( for patients and their carers ), ‘ Healthy living ’ and ‘ Memory strategies ’ ( both for patients only ). All groups were designed for approximately six participants and they took place separately for the North and South of the region .
56 OTnews August 2021