LESS one-to-one support could be provided to Somerset residents with dementia as the county council explores new ways of providing care.

Somerset County Council is working with health commissioners on how it can provide a range of support services for dementia sufferers in the coming years, with the number of case expected to rise across the county.

A new “family model” of care is being trialled, which will see “prohibitive” one-to-one support being replaced with other forms of community support.

The council has said it wants people with dementia to retain their independence for as long as possible.

Victoria Wright is the mental health commissioning manager for the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which is responsible for deciding how health resources are allocated among Somerset’s 540,000 residents.

At a meeting of the council’s adults and health scrutiny committee on Wednesday (April 3), she argued that switching to different forms of care would reduce the pressure on existing health services.

She said in her written report: “Somerset has an older-than-average population, and so the incidence of dementia is likely to be higher.

“In the county there appears to be increasing demand on many services in relation to dementia – including primary care [GPs], A&E, acute hospital wards, and nursing or residential care homes.

“Earlier intervention, with higher quality community-based support, will help reduce some of these pressures on services – and improve the quality of life for those who have dementia, and for their carers.”

Over the last 12 months, the council has been exploring how community respite care can support people with memory issues, with community support taking on some of the work traditionally associated with day centres.

The council said this was “showing positive results” and work was being done to ensure these services were being properly funded.

Ms Wright said existing one-to-one care could be “prohibitive” – making people dependent on high levels of intensified support, rather than shaping their level of care around what they felt they could and couldn’t do.

She added: “A new model for complex dementia needs without utilising one-to-one support is being trialled – known as ‘a family model’.

“Appropriate diagnosis enables people to remain in their own homes as long as possible with their families, which is better for the patient.”

Councillor Mark Healey shared this sentiment, and asked whether changes could be made to make it easier for people to convert or extend their homes to allow vulnerable relatives to stay there.

He said: “People want to care for their relatives, rather than have them ending up in nursing homes.

“There’s a difficulty with trying to get through self-builds [in the planning process]. There’s a raft of work to be done with keeping people out of hospital.

“This must be looked at – otherwise it’s the same old, same old of people ending up in nursing homes. There’s a duty of care here.”

Ms Wright said she and the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – which runs the county’s community hospitals – could produce guide for Somerset’s local authorities, which could speed up the process of getting planning permission for these purposed.

Stephen Chandler, the council’s director of adult services, assured the committee that any changes implemented would be focussed on improving people’s well-being, rather than just saving money.

He said: “It’s about helping to keep independent for as long as possible. Supporting people with dementia is one of our priorities this year.”