Bracknell Forest Dementia Focus Group

Nomination

Award Category:

Volunteer of the year

Individual or Team Nomination?

Team

Qualifying Qualities

In these challenging times, nominators were asked to show how the nominee had demonstrated the following qualities:

Exceptional work ethic - going above and beyond their job description, especially in the past 12 months.
Outstanding achievement/s in work or outside of the organisation where relevant.
Drive for innovation and proactive leadership in these challenging times.
High level of interpersonal skills, such as kindness, empathy, loyalty and thoughtfulness to staff and patients.
A resilience considering Covid to their role and to the health and wellbeing of their colleagues.

Nominators Answer

Nominee's story :

The Dementia Focus Group was setup in 2019. The group consists of volunteers (patients and Carers) who meet to discuss service issues and improvement ideas. Since the group started it has been actively involved in a number of service improvement projects. The majority of the group are Carers who are caring for a person with dementia. The last 18 months have been particularly difficult for both people with dementia and their carers, yet this group have been actively involved in projects. The commitment, dedication and compassion our volunteers have shown has been humbling and inspirational to witness. The Focus Group have not only identified ‘gaps’ in services/support, they have also been instrumental in coming up with innovative solutions and steering improvement works. Our volunteers have worked alongside colleagues in the NHS as well as Social Care and Public Health to help implement positive change. Examples of some of the projects undertaken include: • Early on in the Covid 19 pandemic the group highlighted a gap in clear straightforward guidance for people with dementia, on keeping safe from Covid 19. The group felt that ‘Prompt Cards’ would be a useful way to remind people of the three key instructions – ‘Hands’, ‘Face’, ‘Space’. After comprehensive research into what was already available and realising there was nothing Nationally which aimed at guidance for People with Dementia, the group facilitator linked the project Lead with appropriate Practitioners in our local Public Health team and our Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapist, to design and create the prompt cards. A draft was disseminated to all Focus Group members for further consultation. As a result of the Project, Prompt Cards were created and distributed to people with dementia and their Carers. The cards were also made readily available on our Local Authority website and other online resources. • Staff Training – A member of the Focus Group offered to Present to our Community Mental Health Team for Older Adults. Our Team has over 50 Practitioners from a variety of disciplines. The Carer, through a virtual meeting, spoke about his experiences of being a carer after his partner’s diagnosis of dementia. He spoke candidly about his experiences and the support he had received, including the issues and challenges faced during the Covid 19 pandemic. The Team found the event extremely beneficial, insightful, and humbling. Feedback from the session included: ‘That was a fantastic presentation from the Carer! There were a lot of us there and all the thank you’s got lost, but can you pass on how much it was appreciated, so valuable to hear his perspective and so eloquently presented as well’. ‘Thank you for organising the talk from Mike this morning – a very inspiring presentation and came across as such a lovely guy who is devoted to his wife and really values all the support the team offers. Over the past 18 months the Dementia Focus Group has been integral in supporting our NHS and Social Care to provide a valued service to the people we support. They have gone over and beyond at a time of stress, anxiety and worry for many.