People with dementia and carers will be able to access appropriate multi-disciplinary support at times of crisis through a clear, single point of contact

If you experience a crisis, which could be due to a number of reasons, you know where to go and how to access timely support and if needed further assessment.

For extra information, evidence and best practice please scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Regional offerings

Dementia Wellbeing Plan for Greater Manchester; Dementia United

The Greater Manchester dementia wellbeing plan promotes personalised planning conversations with people living with dementia and carers about their needs and wants. The plan ensures an improved standard of care planning for people living with dementia and also facilitates sharing across the system. It will be available as a standardised plan which can be accessed and shared digitally between practitioners; as well as being available from the website for people affected by dementia to be using when having person centred care plan reviews
Weblink: https://dementia-united.org.uk/dementia-wellbeing-plan/

Mental Health Support in Greater Manchester

We know things may be difficult at the moment. If you find yourself feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed there’s support out there for you.
Weblink: https://hub.gmhsc.org.uk/mental-health/whats-new/mental-health-support-in-greater-manchester-2/

Greater Manchester Mental Health 24/7 helpline

We are here to help you during this tough time – please reach out to us when you need us. We may have a lot of calls to get though, so please bear with us, but you are important to us and we will help you as much as we can.
Telephone: Bolton, Salford, Trafford and city of Manchester: 0800 953 0285
Wigan: 0800 051 3253, Bury, Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale, Oldham, Stockport, and Tameside: 0800 0149995
Weblink: In your area - Mental Health: https://hub.gmhsc.org.uk/mental-health/in-your-area/

National offerings

Age UK

Age UK is the country's leading charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life. Providing advice, support, information, fundraising, local services
Telephone: Advice line 0800 678 1602 free to call 8am - 7pm 365 days of the year
Weblink: https://www.ageuk.org.uk

Alzheimer’s Society

The Alzheimer’s Society provides reliable and up to date information to help you with every aspect of living with dementia.
Telephone: National Dementia Helpline: 0300 222 1122. Open 9.00am. – 5.00pm. Monday to Friday & 10.00am. – 4.00pm. Saturday and Sunday.
Weblink: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

Carers UK

Caring will affect us all at some point in our lives. We'll be here for you when that happens. With your help, we can be there for the 6,000 people who start looking after someone each day.
Telephone: 020 7378 4999
Weblink: https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice

Dementia Carers Count

Provide free carers courses, support and connecting carers up with a wider network, offer a virtual carers centre.
Weblink: https://dementiacarers.org.uk/

Dementia UK

Dementia UK is a national charity, committed to improving quality of life for all people affected by dementia. They provide Admiral Nurses, who work with family members and carers in all care settings along with a helpline for family members or carers who would welcome accessing advice and support.
Telephone: 0800 88 6678
Email: direct@dementiauk.org
Weblink: https://www.dementiauk.org/

Lewy Body Society

The Lewy Body Society is a charity whose mission is to fund research into Lewy body dementia and to raise awareness of the disease. The website provides information, support, resources and advice.
Telephone: 01942 914000
Weblink: https://www.lewybody.org/

NICE Dementia Guidance

This guideline brings together all the research and evidence which covers assessment, diagnosis, treatment and support. It is for people at risk of developing dementia, people who are referred for assessment, people living with dementia as well as being for family and friends and health and social care staff and commissioners. It aims to improve care by making recommendations on standards people should expect to receive from their assessment, care and support as well as on training.
Weblinks:
We have provided links to the NICE guideline for dementia and a further link is provided to guidance on how to delay or prevent the onset of dementia.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) NG16 (2015) Dementia, disability and frailty in later life – mid-life approaches to delay or prevent onset: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng16
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2019) Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97

Healthwatch

Healthwatch is your health and social care champion. If you use GPs and hospitals, dentists, pharmacies, care homes or other support services, we want to hear about your experiences. As an independent statutory body, we have the power to make sure NHS leaders and other decision makers listen to your feedback and improve standards of care. Last year we helped nearly a million people like you to have your say and get the information and advice you need.
Telephone: Call: 03000 683 000 between the hours of 08:30 – 17:30 Monday to Friday
Email: enquiries@healthwatch.co.uk
Weblink: https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/your-local-healthwatch/list

Evidence

Research has shown that the Dementia Adviser service provides, ‘the right information and advice at the right time for them’ (Department of Health, 2013), and that this personalisation can also be key for crisis prevention. (Alzheimer's Society 2016. Dementia advisors. A cost-effective approach to delivering integrated dementia care.) NCCMH, Dementia care pathway full implementation: Behaviours that challenge are very common in people living with dementia and can cause significant distress and costs. Community mental health teams can:

Offer interventions for people living with dementia who have specialist mental health needs (such as comorbid behavioural and psychological symptoms) including managing medication, provide ongoing treatment for older adults who have a primary diagnosis of a functional mental health problem (such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) and have developed dementia.
Community mental health teams can provide treatment and support to people living with dementia during crises, which may arise as a result of severe behavioural and psychological symptoms, and severe carer stress. The aim of the intervention will be to improve outcomes and reduce the need for inpatient admission.

The Dementia Crisis and Prevention Team (DCPT) provides multi-disciplinary assessments, treatment and care for people diagnosed with dementia. Our service supports service users living in their own home or in a care home, that are at a high level of risk and without increased support may require hospital admission. Our team provides a range of care services in order to:

Promote faster recovery from illness
Prevent avoidable deterioration
Maximise residual skills and independent living
Avoid unnecessary hospital admission
Support timely discharge from Mental Health wards
Provide Liaison to care homes
Provide education and training.

Evaluation Report Acute (Basildon) 2017-2019: "Admiral Nurses provide the specialist dementia support that families need. When things get challenging or difficult, Admiral Nurses work alongside people with dementia, their families and carers: giving the one-to-one support, expert guidance and the practical solutions people need, which can be hard to find elsewhere. Admiral Nurses are continually trained, developed and supported by Dementia UK. Families that have their support have someone truly expert and caring by their side -helping them to live more positively with dementia in the present, and to face the challenges of tomorrow with more confidence and less fear. Admiral Nurses intervene quickly –averting avoidable and costly crises, and ultimately reducing hospital admissions and early residential care."