The East Dunbartonshire Advisory Clinic Model: Better outcomes for people affected by dementia

Learning points

With the service now performing well and delivering anticipated outcomes, a number of factors have been instrumental in the early success of this new service model:

• Catalytic funding. The availability and time of the Change Fund resources provided the ability to develop and test a new service in partnership with the third sector, with a view to mainstreaming the approach based on the learning. This was vital in being able to reconfigure services and eventually to sustain the approach (investing to save).
• Building on a strong network of support. The approach was grounded in a strong network of interested parties – the Dementia Network – from which the concept was developed. This provided a natural forum from which to design the service, and access to a wide network of expertise, connections, venues, and resources. The initial involvement of all interested parties ensuring widespread local support.
• A driver. The Council’s Older People Team Manager provided a single lead on dementia issues, operating jointly on behalf of Council’s Social Work Department and the Community Health Partnership. This enabled a coordinated response among public agencies. This individual has also been instrumental in driving forward the initiative.
• A partnership of equals. Public and third sector partners have come to the partnership on an equal footing, collaborating in the design of the project and contributing knowledge, capacity, and resources as they can.
• The right third sector partners. Partners emerged that had the appropriate track record and specific specialisms within the dementia field. This supplemented the knowledge and capacity held by the Council and Community Health Partnership. All of the partners are committed to training and learning to ensure that the service is based on research and best practice.
• Close working relationships. Close personal and professional relationships based on trust developed between partners. This built on pre-existing partnership working between senior staff in the partner organisations. 
• Enabling the right solution. Partners were willing to put their own organisational interests to one side to find a solution that was right for people with dementia in East Dunbartonshire. The Council’s Social Work department demonstrated a willingness to think and act differently, facilitating a creative solution to emerge.    
• A robust service design. Partners spent time designing a service capable of meeting public service priorities, grounded in the needs of service users, and capable of delivering transformational change. The service was based on a clear specification and on the basis of soundly articulated and measureable outcomes. 

The East Dunbartonshire Clinic model has now been recognised nationally and internationally. It has been used as an example by the Scottish Government’s Joint Improvement Team of models of co-production which support the transforming older people services agenda. It has also been recognised at the International Dementia Excellence Awards in Australia in June 2012. In 2013 the model was recognised by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Association of Public Service (APSE) Excellence Awards.