The Welsh Government has published a review of its Dementia Action Plan for Wales, which ran between 2018 and 2022. The objectives of the plan were to:
• Increase public knowledge of how people can reduce their risk or delay the onset of dementia
• Increase public awareness of how to identify the signs of dementia and seek early diagnosis
• Improve rates of timely diagnosis
• Help people living with dementia to live as well as possible, as independently as possible, for as long as possible.
The evaluation highlights that significant progress has been made in several important areas, whilst also identifying ongoing challenges that must be addressed to fully meet the needs of people living with dementia, their families and carers.
It notes that:
• The plan provided a strong impetus for developing services and support, with improvements in multi-disciplinary working, person-centred care and community-level prevention, as well as awareness-raising activities
• Challenges remain in implementation and monitoring, with issues relating to data collection, diagnosis delays and inconsistent access to support
• Enhancing assessment and diagnosis pathways, ensuring consistent and equitable access to needs assessments, and providing a single point of contact post-diagnosis, are crucial steps to improving support for people living with dementia, their families and carers
• Funding remains a critical concern, with a need for ongoing and long-term funding to ensure service sustainability.
It concludes by noting that the plan has positively transformed dementia policy in Wales but that to maintain and enhance these improvements, it is essential to develop a successor strategy, whilst continuing to supporting regional dementia strategies and action plans. The full evaluation is available at:
https://www.gov.wales/final-findings-dementia-action-plan-2018-2022-evaluation