The Dementia Choices Action Network (DCAN) is a collaboration to make dementia care in England as personalised as possible. The initiative was created to determine how Universal Personalised Care can benefit people affected by dementia from diagnosis to end of life and is a joint collaboration between Alzheimer’s Society, the National Health Service (NHS) England, Improvement and the Coalition for Collaborative Care.
DCAN offers an approach rooted in personalisation and integration, delivered by six components of a Comprehensive Model of Personalised Care:
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Shared Decision Making
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Personalised Care and Support Planning
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Social Prescribing and community development
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Enabling Choice
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Supported Self-Management
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Personal Health Budgets.
The initiative plans to learn from a wide range of stakeholders via an open network of organisations and individuals interested in making personalised care the default experience of everyone diagnosed with dementia. A key task for the DCAN network is to increase awareness and knowledge amongst people affected by dementia, and to give them opportunities to shape, direct and co-produce changes that will have most impact following a diagnosis of dementia.
On 7 January 2020, over 80 stakeholders including clinicians, commissioners, people with dementia, carers, researchers and charities, attended the first DCAN Assembly and started exploring what good personalised care for people with dementia and their carers looks like and how to make this a reality. The day was interactive with opportunities for discussion and ideas. All six areas of the Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care were examined. This Assembly allowed everyone to hear about the good practice and innovation work already taking place and practical examples of how personalised care has worked for people with dementia, including stories from people with lived experiences. All learning from the DCAN is being used to inform a National Dementia Plan for Universal Personalised Care 2021-25. Follow #DCAN #DementiaCan on Twitter to find out more and keep up to date.
