The initiative has been created to tackle a number of severe issues people with dementia face including those associated with hospitalisation.
As it stands, one in six hospital beds are occupied by someone living with dementia even though this often isn’t the best place for them. Here, patients face increased risks of falls, functional decline and fragmented care plans. With this in mind, Alzheimer’s Society – the UK’s leading care and research charity – have launched a new programme to help battle some of these issues.
Individuals part of the new Launchpad Cohort were carefully chosen from dozens of applications previously submitted.
So far the cohort have curated a number of ideas for how they want to assist people with dementia. These include:
- help people in the early stages of dementia, such as ACTION-XR’s immersive reminiscence platform and Tether’s remote monitoring of activities in a person’s home.
- help carers and people in the community, these include Day To Remember, an interactive memory playback app enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI), Dee, an AI supported information, advice, guidance platform and Knock and Check, offering support from postal staff with links to voluntary services.
- streamline the health and social care system – addressed by Clearlines, which is designed to speed hospital discharge and aid planning, Finproxy, a financial technology tool to aid property and financial power of attorney decisions and Actryx, a forecasting and planning tool for regional and national dementia care.
- improve the hospital experience for people with dementia -Dentablue is an antibacterial gummy to aid oral hygiene for people living with dementia and Em Will Care is an app which aims to predict and prevent people experiencing distress because of their dementia.
- train and develop to ensure people with dementia receive person-centred care – with two Launchpad participants developing ways to help. K.I.M is an empathy training tool for caregivers and Variment offers simulation training for health and social care workers to enhance communication and interpersonal skills.
Alzheimer’s Society Head of Innovation, Simon Lord, said: ‘Dementia is the biggest health and social care issue of our time. The Launchpad initiative is part of Alzheimer’s Society’s Innovation Programme, which is designed to address the challenges people living with dementia face today, while our world-class research helps to deliver the treatments of tomorrow.’
‘Innovation will ensure that everyone at every stage of dementia has increased choice; access to timely care and support; and an improved quality and control over their life.
‘We know that hospitalisation can be a huge challenge for people with dementia, with unplanned hospital admissions making up almost a third of all dementia healthcare costs. That’s why I am delighted to unveil our Launchpad cohort who are determined to address this.
‘Alzheimer’s Society is unique in co-creating everything it does with people affected by dementia and key stakeholders across dementia and innovation. This generation could end the devastation caused by dementia, but only if we work together.’
Image supplied by Alzheimer’s Society.
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