ARRS-funded dementia nurse makes a difference in Rotherham
Over 900,000 people are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK and this is set to rise to 1.6m by 2040. An estimated 91.8% of people living with dementia have at least one other health condition.
Liz Tomlinson is one of a number of dementia specialist Admiral Nurses made possible by Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) funding with the additional support of Dementia UK. Liz was drawn to the role after her grandmother, who brought her up, was diagnosed with the condition and she was able to use her specialist skills (learned as a mental health nurse) to support her family through a difficult time – something she can now offer to others.
The team deal with an average of 57 referrals a month and work closely with GP practice staff colleagues to ensure patients get to see the right person first time – a key principle within the Modern General Practice model, part of the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care.
Liz explained: “We have a nurse in each Primary Care Network, so we cover 28 surgeries across the whole of the locality.
“Our main role is to support families experiencing dementia and help take away some of the pressure the condition creates for them.”
“We get our referrals from GPs, practice nurses, patients and carers, social workers – everywhere. Although I work with a lot of elderly people in the community, the youngest person I have supported with the condition was 32.”
“I couldn’t imagine ever doing anything else. It’s stressful at times, but I just can’t see myself being a nurse in any other field.”
Patients can be triaged to the service where there are ongoing or increasing complexities associated with dementia or suspected dementia; complex family dynamics; complex transitional care; and/or the condition is adversely affecting the wellbeing of the carer of person living with dementia. This can be at any point from time of diagnosis through to end-of-life care and beyond in bereavement.
Liz continued: “Being part of the multi-disciplinary practice team works really well. For example, if I go and see somebody and identify they have an infection from their blood or urine, I can ask for a prescription via our online system – saving GP appointment time for another patient. If a family needs a couple of hours spending with them to assess their complex needs, we can do just that, which would be impossible within a typical GP appointment. Building up that therapeutic relationship with carers is sometimes all that’s needed, and that listening ear.”
As well as working directly with over 500 families each month, nurses have a role in advising, training and being a role model for other professionals to support best practice in dementia care.
Dr Ambreen Qureshi, GP Partner added: “Having an Admiral Nurse working in the PCN has really helped to improve our practice’s service to patients and families dealing with dementia. We continue to receive really positive feedback from the families involved as well as our patient participation groups.”
“You can refer in even before a patient has received a diagnosis – very useful in preventing ‘crisis points’ such as admissions or falls. We have seen far fewer crisis contacts from families since this service was introduced.”