South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield Health and Care Partnerships are working together to review how they improve mental health care for older people in their inpatient wards through their “older people’s mental health inpatient transformation programme.”
Their our older people’s mental health inpatient services look after people who are diagnosed with dementia (also referred to as organic needs), and those with other mental health needs such as depression, anxiety and psychosis (often referred to as functional needs).
It is important that all older people diagnosed with dementia and functional mental health needs get the right care in a safe, appropriate and supportive environment.
Significant improvements have already been made through the older people’s community mental health transformation programme, meaning that most people are cared for as close to home as possible.
They acknowledge that due to these improvements most people can be supported to live well in the community. But there is a need to better support the small proportion of people who are acutely unwell, who present with complex needs and co-morbidities, and therefore require admission to an inpatient ward.
Here is their briefing document on the progress of the older people’s mental health inpatient transformation programme, which gives a lot more details on their plans and how they are going: OPS transformation programme
