Cornwall Road surgery is Dementia Friendly, and that’s official!

A GP surgery in Dorchester has become the first in West Dorset to be officially recognised as Dementia Friendly. 

Cornwall Road Surgery, at Frederick Treves House, Poundbury, is the first medical practice in Dorchester, and West Dorset, to receive accreditation from  Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) after implementing iSPACE; an innovative model of dementia-friendly primary care, making them officially a ‘Dementia Friendly’ Practice.

The practice has become a member of Dorchester Dementia Action Alliance; and are also working with the Countrymen’s Club in Dorchester, a project designed to tackle specific challenges, including dementia, faced by older men.

Last month, most of the staff at the practice received their Tier 1 Dementia Training and the rest of the staff will be attending their training imminently.

Jane Goodson, practice manager at Cornwall Road, said: “By becoming a dementia friendly practice, the patient experience for people with dementia and their carers will be improved.

“As a GP practice we regularly see patients or carers, relatives or loved ones who are affected by dementia.  We all believe that attitudes towards dementia should be more positive.

“We found the training really helpful, especially to those of us not clinically trained as it gave a real insight into the challenges faced by those with dementia, and those caring for someone with dementia."

Joanna Bazalgette, from Wessex AHSN, is working with local practices to help them achieve accreditation, and presented the surgery with their certificate of implementation on 3 December.  On the same day, a Memory Stand was hosted by the surgery which was manned by Memory Advisors from the Alzheimer’s Society to provide information and advice about memory problems and dementia.

Jane hopes that practices in West Dorset will join them and the practices in other parts of Dorset in implementing iSPACE and becoming officially dementia friendly: “This has been a very straightforward process.  The iSPACE concept is easy to follow and can be done without significant costs,” she said.

iSPACE has been funded by Wessex AHSN, and was originally planned and piloted by Dr Nicola Decker at Oakley and Overton Partnership in North Hampshire. The work is now being implemented in surgeries across the Wessex Region, with 16 accredited practices and another 26 working towards accreditation.  They are working alongside the Alzheimer’s Society and the Dementia Action Alliance who are aiming to achieve dementia friendly communities across Dorset.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about how to become a Dementia Friendly Surgery can do so by contacting Joanna Bazalgette by telephone on 07341 556944 or by email.

Picture L-R: Chris Matthews (Dorchester Dementia Action Alliance) Joanna Bazalgette (Wessex AHSN) Jane Goodson (Practice Manager) Lisa Cripps (Dementia Champion) Sian Smail (Alzheimer’s Society)