May 18, 2023 7.00 am This story is over 13 months old

Mental health benefits for Lincolnshire dementia patients treated at home

The pilot programme has been extended
| Photo: Kylie Warrington for The Lincolnite

Health officials at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) have hailed the benefits of their home treatment model for dementia patients.

LPFT believes providing care in the familiar surroundings of patients’ homes leads to better outcomes and support.

The Manthorpe unit in Grantham temporarily closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the closure, LPFT introduced a Dementia Home Treatment Team, which received positive feedback from service users, carers, and staff.

The success of the pilot program has prompted the trust to extend and expand it for the next 12 months.

Chief Executive, Sarah Connery, told councillors on Wednesday: “The engagement we’ve done with service users and carers and their families, as well as looking at clinical outcomes, has been very positive.”

Chris Higgins added: “One of the key benefits is people’s mental health.

“Their memories of that familiarity of a home setting are really important.

“Routine and familiar surroundings help people to live well for longer, and those routines get really disrupted when you put somebody into a hospital.”

However, concerns have been expressed by councillors regarding the potential drawbacks of the home treatment model and the continued closure of the Manthorpe ward.

Councillor Calum Watt recognised the importance of treating dementia patients at home for as long as possible to support their wellbeing.

However, he raised concerns about the impact on patients who need to travel long distances, saying: “It’s probably not going to be helpful for their treatment.”

Councillor Tom Smith also drew attention to the increasing elderly population in the coming years.

He added: “In the next few years, there probably won’t be enough capacity, and it’s really a question of how long will you sit on an empty building?”

Despite concerns, bosses remained confident they could tackle issues using new technologies and by supporting struggling families.

They said work was ongoing to monitor future patient numbers in the future and predict where services would be needed.

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