the header graphic source is here
- Motivation
- The pitfalls
- The UK project deserves better
1 Motivation
- The author's strong belief in the continuity and growth of the UK DMC project arises from six months of sharing his experience with his wife at least once a week at the Leominster DMC.
- The motivation to start a series of 1/7 100 minute round-trip journeys in April with a frail wife arose from reading about the success enjoyed in Holland and the plans for introducing DMCs into the UK.
- The project must succeed. Review and revision of UK "present fragmented and inefficient dementia care" (see Impact here) is long overdue. .Ways of improving the present over-involved procedure for creating UK DMCs must be found. Results divided by time in motion proves the point.
- The project will succeed. If only due to the vast sum of money put into it, if it doesn't succeed, there will be a lot of highly paid, highly bright, highly eggy academic faces at Worcester University. vast sum of money here 3.1
- The author's strong belief in the continuity and growth of DMCs has led him to promote DIY DMCs. The prime motivation is based on reducing the time taken within the present system.
- Another motivation is to ensure a system for creating DMCs, were the Worcester University project fall at the first hurdle.
2 The pitfalls
- There is a large DMC operation manual which sells the concept of carers and carees working with DMC staff and volunteers to the benefit of carers and carees. However, the manual defines carees (but never using the word) as participants as if carers were on the sidelines.
- The Leominster DMC includes independent carees who manage life without a carer. As self-carers, however, they are excluded from carer meetings.
- DMCs are not recognised in title and are only referred to as Meeting Centres. D-leting achieves nothing but being lumped in with Chess, and Pigeon-fancier Meeting Centres.
- This page gives the reader hitherto unavailable insight into the UK dimensions of the international project. Social media resources have only been recently exploited. example @MeetingCentres
- The first DMC at Droitwich has a website which tells you What happens at the Meeting Centre but not what has happened or is happening now. No plans are discernible. No optimism and that is probably based on needing to wait for project research outcomes in February 2107.
- The News page tells you that the Centre was formally launched on 20th November 2015.
- The News page has not changed since the first time the website author saw it in April 2016 - here.
- The second and last of the existing UK DMCs at Leominster has no website. The best news on offer is yesterday's news. "The official launch will take place on the 3rd May 2016 .." here. Outdated webpages destroy momentum.
- Thanks to the two staff pictured in 2.9, Leominster participants receive a monthly programme. There is no website.
- You can't sell the goods if you don't put them in the market place.
- It is not a matter of insufficient finance. "The total grant for the project is for €1,119,819 - £964,056 - with the UK-based research being funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and the University of Worcester receiving €375,000 - £322,839 for its work over the next three years." from 2103 here more at 3.1 here
- These amounts do not include three staff each at both DMCs on, say, 30 hours per week.
- This website author is working flat out to promote DMCs but this sort of scenario makes it an uphill struggle.
3 The UK project deserves better
3.1 Intro
- Worcester University here has taken on the introduction of DMCs in the UK.
- The international project has a set procedure of meetings and the way the DMCs are operated.
- Setting up a DMC can take over a year. Only two are in operation. Those underway do not total half a dozen.
- There is only one website among them and the news is not up to date. 2.15
3.2 The formal project
- The formal project demands a vast amount of reading. Distilling it to this amount of text has been a challenge. It is generous with meetings.
- 3.1.5 says it all. Only two DMCs have been created since 2013.
- Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire in September 2015. source
- Leominster on 1st February 2016. source
- Fewer than half a dozen are in pipeline.- 2 here.
- Re-reading 2.3 and no optimism, at least there is some in 3.2.9
3.3 DIY
- Ways must be found to make the process shorter and simpler.
- As there is no mail-order route, DIY is the only answer
- Don't waste time finding stakeholders to tell them what you are going to do. Tell them what they can help with by showing results. Not research results to three decimal points of significance but people enjoying benefits already.
- If there is no DMC in your area, read the link below at 3.3.13, make contact once started. Masses more to send you.
- Any new project will need meetings people. If you have experience of initiating anything in your local community, Contact If you have time as a healthcare professional or are retired with same, Contact
- But 3.3.9 is not a condition. Enthusiasm for improving dementia services is the key requirement. Contact
- If you are a carer, you have a lot to offer. Contact