New Model of Dementia End of Life Practice – How partnership working between two hospices and other stakeholders can empower people to live well and die well with advanced dementia.

The Dementia End of Life Practice Development Team in Cheshire, is a new collaboration between East Cheshire Hospice, St Lukes Hospice and other stakeholders including the End of Life Partnership, three Clinical Commissioning Groups, Dementia UK and a Mental Health Trust.

The aim of the team is to improve the end of life care for people with dementia and their families, and attempt to address the inequalities they experience.

This is a small multi-disciplinary team including a social worker (team leader), a registered general nurse (educator/facilitator), a mental health nurse (Admiral Nurse) and an allied health therapist.

The team works by educating/facilitating/consultancy and supporting service developments in the wider social and healthcare workforce.

In particular, the project is aiming at achieving the following: people with dementia remaining in their preferred place of care; increase in patient and informal carer satisfaction and experience; reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions at end of life; reduction in length of stay in hospital; reduction in accident and emergency admissions in last year of life; increase in knowledge and confidence of those caring for people with advanced dementia; end of life care as a core component of workforce education; sharing of knowledge, best practice and information across the partnership; raise awareness of dementia end of life issues and inequalities.

The poster/presentation will look at the challenges experienced in meeting the aims and planned outcomes of the project, illustrating a model of close partnership working in a structured and reactive way. It will demonstrate how hospices can reach out beyond their walls, to people with dementia, taking compassionate and holistic care out into the community.