Dementia tool is covered in CQUINs

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust is using software developed with IMS Maxims to help meet its Commissioning for Quality and Innovation targets for dementia care.

The Maxims dementia system prompts healthcare professionals to make relevant assessments for people with suspected dementia, while guiding them to the correct care pathway.

It also makes sure that the trust can claim CQUIN payments for delivering better dementia care.

Royal Cornwall’s associate director of nursing and consultant nurse for older people, Frazer Underwood, said the system meant the trust could identify all 75-year olds and make sure that they were assessed for dementia and referred as appropriate.

“It enables us to increase the early identification of people with dementia,” he added.

“In Cornwall, we have 10% more older people than the national average and the prevalence of dementia correlates with that higher figure. The ability of IMS Maxims to contribute meaningfully to improving services is invaluable.”

Shane Tickell, chief executive of the company, said: “The drive and innovation of Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in using this system to manage the identification and referral process for dementia patients has produced excellent results.

“Working within the CQUIN framework has allowed us to develop software, which helps trusts become more efficient in administrative terms, while improving patient well-being and care.”

The IMS Maxims dementia software has been developed based on NICE guidelines.