FOI Ref: 0211FOI1920

19^th February 2020 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

We are pleased to respond to your request for information and our response is set out below:

Request/ Response

1. What services do you provide to care for the increasing number of patients suffering with dementia?

NHS Sheffield CCG do not provide direct services to people with dementia, as we are a commissioning organisation.

However, the CCG and Sheffield City Council have a joint commissioning plan for dementia which includes, for example, a specialist dementia advice service for professionals to ensure care is co-ordinated and people can live well at home; day support for younger and older adults; as well as CCG specifically commissioned services within  Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, (SHSC) such as the Sheffield Memory Service and the Oder Adults Mental Health Teams (the latter provides support on a wider range of mental issues than dementia, but dementia support is a key element of the service.) We also commission residential dementia nursing home provision, and packages of care for individuals through our Continuing Health Care function.

2. What support do you provide for the family members who act as carers for their relatives with dementia?

There is support to family carers available through the services that we commission as described above.  However, as a CCG, we are also active promoters of Sheffield as a Dementia Friendly City and promote national information for carers, through the CCG webpages. https://www.sheffieldccg.nhs.uk/our-projects/dementia-friendly-community.htm and https://www.dementiacarer.net/

In addition we are developing our Dementia Strategy for the city, with partners which has a specific commitment to developing our multi-agency approaches for carers. This will be published later this month on Sheffield CCG’s website. See https://www.sheffieldccg.nhs.uk/

As part of Sheffield CCG’s collaborative working in the 'People Keeping Well' partnership with Sheffield City Council, there are now more dementia-specific and dementia-friendly groups in local areas and across the city including:

o        Dementia and Memory Cafés, social dining groups and coffee mornings

o        Walking groups, exercise and “chairobics” classes

o        Music and singing sessions

o        Carer support groups and pampering sessions

o        Groups for men and groups for women

o        Gardening, allotment and farming projects and much more

3. What courses or training do you require your doctors and nurses to attend as part of their training in dementia management?

As previously stated we are not direct providers of dementia services, and therefore do not stipulate training requirements, although do encourage local providers to sign up to the Dementia Friendly City commitments, and have identified training and awareness raising as one of the underpinning components of our Dementia Strategy commitments.

4. Are you involved in providing any new services for dementia patients?

As stated, we are not direct providers of dementia care. However, as part of our joint commissioning plans, Sheffield CCG and Sheffield City Council will be designing and redesigning services in the future to provide high quality, personalised services in Sheffield.  This aims to support adults of all ages with dementia to continue to remain independent within their community, and to support their family carers in their caring roles. 

5. Have you liaised with other CCGs in England to establish whether they have performed or evaluated any new services for dementia patients?

We use national evidence based practice to develop our local strategies and implementation plans.

We have not specifically looked at performance of services that other CCG’s commission, but we do work within an Integrated Care System, across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, which gives us the opportunity to work with other CCGs on designing and delivering services, and we will seek to utilise these networks at appropriate points in enacting our commissioning plans. 

6. Do you have a lead clinician responsible for improving dementia care? What are their qualifications and experience?

As a Clinical Commissioning Organisation, we employ Clinical Directors to lead on the commissioning of all areas of health care, including dementia. These are qualified General Practitioners (GPs) who have many years of experience of working in primary care, and experience of the identification, treatment and support to people with dementia and their families. There is a specific designated Clinical Director who is responsible for leading on dementia as part of the above structure of the CCG, and in addition, we also employ additional sessions from a GP with a special interest in dementia to assist in the development of the Dementia Strategy. This person has been a lead GP for the Elderly Mental Illness Care Homes within their practice area, over many years and has completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Dementia Care for professionals with a special interest in dementia.

7. Are you involved in developing or piloting any new services for dementia care?

We are recommissioning our joint approach to day care services, led by the Local Authority, but as part of the Dementia Strategy implementation and action plan, our plans to commission or pilot new services will evolve in the future in partnership with providers of dementia care and support, and other stakeholders.

8. How much funding have you allocated or received for any new service or service pilot?

Not applicable

9. If you have a new dementia service, has it been evaluated for clinical efficacy and value for money?

Any new services that are commissioned go through a standard NHS procurement procedure and as such have an automatic evaluation process built in for the provider to demonstrate efficacy and value for money.

10. If so, what was the evaluation criteria and who performed the evaluation?

The criteria and evaluation process is specific to each service that is commissioned through a procurement process.

11. What are the clinical qualifications of the evaluation officer/team?

The evaluation panel for any procurement process is drawn up from appropriate commissioning and procurement officers, and may or may not include clinical staff and experts by experience, depending on what knowledge and skills we require on the panel, for the service that is being procured.

12. Has there been any separate funding or cost for the evaluation process?

Not applicable

13. Can you share the detailed evaluation data and outcomes?

Not applicable