MPs back Sage House model to cut cost of dementia care by 38% and improve quality of life

At an event held in the Houses of Parliament, a wide range of MPs and peers put their signatures to a pledge to use their influence to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers while expressing their full support of a rollout of the charity, Dementia Support’s Sage House Model across the country.

Baroness Browning, Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Dementia said:

“I’d like to see a model like this everywhere around the country. I think this is trailblazing for several reasons. The fact that it covers the whole journey of somebody with dementia when we know that that journey can be quite hard and many years long. From the initial diagnosis, there’s continuity right the way through to the end of life…. We know from the latest statistics that 1 in 3 people will at some point in their lifetime have to care for someone with dementia. This effects an awful lot of people”.

In her speech, the host of the event, Chichester MP Gillian Keegan described Sage House as a unique find - a place where you could send constituents to receive a complete range of help and support once a dementia diagnosis had been received.

Helen Whately, whose father-in-law is dealing with an early onset dementia diagnosis, talked of how challenging the process can be with regard to receiving care and support.

She said: “When you do this job, you find things around the country that are such fabulous examples and you wonder why this isn’t happening elsewhere, so it’s good to hear that people in other areas are now hearing about this.

“When someone gets a dementia diagnosis it can be a really hard moment in time and can be frightening. To know that that support is there for them and their carers and families is so, so important and having the support there is really crucial”.

Sage House, based in Tangmere, West Sussex was opened six years ago by local charity Dementia Support who recognised that people were lacking support and help following a diagnosis of dementia. As the only one of its kind in the country, it brings a full range of integrated services and partners under one roof, including advice, guidance, the NHS dementia assessment service, legal advice, activities, respite day care, and wellbeing services care. Since its launch, the charity has proven agile and adaptable, by moulding to the needs of the community and its customers.

Dementia Support has captured its methodology and packaged it to support other regions who want to improve care and support. Organisations in Berkshire, Hampshire and neighbouring East Sussex are already interested in replicating the model.

An Academic Evaluation by the University of Chichester’s Cognitive Ageing and Dementia Laboratory, found that the Sage House Model saved £1,722 per person, each year, when compared to the standard cost of care, making it 38% cheaper.

With 944,000 people currently living with dementia in the UK, and the number predicted to reach more than 1.6 million by 2040, the Sage House Model has the potential to save the government billions over the coming years. Just as importantly, the report delivers convincing evidence that there is a better way to support people living with dementia and their care partners.

In addition, the academic evaluation shows that:

• 61% of people accessing Sage House agreed that it had helped them or their Care Partners to continue working.

• People living with dementia who had access to Sage House experienced significantly greater Life Satisfaction (20% higher), Wellbeing (16%) and Quality of Life (10%) than the standard care model.

• Care partners with access to Sage House demonstrated better access to information and support which led to a significantly greater Quality of Life.

To find out more and download a copy of the full academic evaluation, go to: https://nap.dementiasupport.org.uk/evidence-impact.