A five-year dementia strategy, beginning in 2025, has been approved by Sheffield City Council.

The strategy follows on from the 2019-2024 plan and seeks to build on its pros and cons. Particular improvement goals in the new nine-step strategic vision include the mission to make Sheffield a “dementia friendly city”.

This will include the collaboration of “individuals, communities, organisations and businesses” to improve the general quality of life for Sheffield residents living with dementia.

Jo Pass, Assistant Director for the Living and Aging Well Service, said that after consulting the previous plan there are “areas of concern and a real challenge to people, one of those being transport services in the city, another being how long people are waiting for diagnosis.”

Of the six to seven thousand people estimated to have dementia in Sheffield, only 70% have a recorded diagnosis.

Ms Pass said the estimated figures were known to be a “significant underestimation.”

One contributing issue is the long waiting times for an official diagnosis after GP referral.

The report says people may currently wait up to a year to be diagnosed, which they aim to improve under the new strategy. They also seek to increase access to referrals in general.

Ms Pass said “We are not as responsive as we need to be to the diverse communities we have in Sheffield.”

Women, for instance, make up two thirds of dementia patients in the UK, and those who identify as Black, Caribbean or African are diagnosed less.

The plan was approved unanimously, and councillors celebrated the plan’s detail.

One of the councillors who approved the plan, Cllr Steve Ayris, said “I do welcome this. It’s a very comprehensive, well-written report.”

The plan also commits to doing more to “prevent, reduce and delay the risk of developing dementia”, and includes surprising risks such as exposure to air pollution, high cholesterol and social contact.

The plan states it will prioritise “supportive community environments” to combat this.

Cllr Ruth Milsom, Chair of the Health Scrutiny sub-committee, said on reading the report “I thought woah, hang on a minute.

“There are things I can do to prevent dementia.”

The plan will be reviewed regularly on its progress throughout the next five years.

Featured image (Source – Sheffield City Council).