South Central Ambulance Service first to trial new alert system for dementia patients

PARAMEDICS who suspect a patient suffers from dementia can now alert their colleagues at the touch of a button.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) is the first in the country to trial the new system after paramedics showed "overwhelming support" for the plan.

Now, when paramedics treat a patient they believe suffers dementia, they can immediately register it on their electronic patient record system.

It forms part of a new £40,000 project being delivered by SCAS with the Universities of Portsmouth and Southampton, funded by The Health Foundation Q Exchange programme.

Helen Pocock, senior research paramedic at SCAS, said: "Dementia is a common condition affecting older people who use health services, impacting on all aspects of their care.

"We found dementia could have been recorded in 16 different fields on the electronic patient record, making it difficult for accurate data retrieval by other staff.

"This could potentially mean those patients do not receive the tailored onward care they need.

"It also means that, in cases where dementia may be suspected by paramedics, the attempt to highlight it to other healthcare providers may be ineffective.

"To combat this, the clinicians we talked to suggested a designated button would enable systematic recording of dementia, facilitating transfer of this key information to other services."

Research leader Dr Carole Fogg of the University of Southampton added: "It is well-documented that people with dementia have poorer outcomes in hospital, so this innovation has the potential to enable them to receive the most appropriate care from emergency departments or referral services."