A team of health professionals from Singapore on a fact-finding tour of Greater Manchester paid a visit to see what the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) and partners are doing to improve care for people living with delirium.
The delegation visited Bury, Oldham and Rochdale to see how programmes like Hospital at Home and Discharge Integration Frontrunner are supporting early diagnosis, reducing hospital admissions and improving support at home.
Delirium is a sudden and severe state of confusion – it can affect people of all ages, though it is more common in older adults.
Lindsey Darley, director of the Frontrunner programme, said: “The clinicians were really impressed with the work we have carried out with partners. They said we cared so much for older people, respected the person and they were inspired by what they had seen.
“They found the visits really useful, especially because they had visited many hospitals in Greater Manchester, but had a gap in their knowledge about what happens to people when they leave hospital.”
Professor Emma Vardy, who has led the implementation of Hospital at Home at NCA and is expert advisor to Dementia United (Greater Manchester’s dementia programme which helped organise the party’s visit to the city region), said: “Hosting Dr Jun Pei Lim and colleagues was a great opportunity for us to showcase all the fantastic work we have been doing to improve delirium care in Greater Manchester.
“The team was very impressed with our holistic, person-centred approach when visiting the Oldham Hospital at Home team, Oldham Frailty Same Day Emergency Care and seeing the NCA Dementia Frontrunner work.
“Our teams should be rightly proud of all that they have achieved. It was also an opportunity for us to learn from international colleagues.”
Those living with dementia are at a higher risk of experiencing delirium. If left untreated, it can lead to prolonged hospital stays, increased complications, and a greater likelihood of requiring long-term care.
The Greater Manchester city region has adopted a groundbreaking, community-first approach, with the work led by Dementia United.