Dementia service receives ‘excellent’ accreditation

The Trust’s dementia service team in Barnsley has been awarded a prestigious accreditation recognising the quality of their assessment, diagnosis and treatment of people with dementia.

The team, based at Kendray Hospital, received the highest level ‘accredited as excellent’ status from MSNAP (Memory Services National Accreditation Programme), part of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The team worked for around eight months to secure the accreditation, providing supporting written evidence and welcoming staff from MSNAP who visited on a ‘peer review’ day.

As part of the accreditation process, the service had to provide evidence of high quality work across several areas, including service planning and commissioning, assessment and diagnosis of dementia, and referral and access to memory services.

Staff in the dementia service work closely with GPs and colleagues from the Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, providing a single point of access for referrals. They carry out detailed assessments to uncover the underlying causes of memory problems, and offer support and advice to those experiencing dementia.

The team will hold the accreditation for two years.

Daniel Binney, admin manager within the team, said: “We were really pleased when we received the accreditation as it involved a lot of hard work, and it was a real boost for the team to be recognised.”

“To be ‘accredited as excellent’ was especially amazing as our service users spoke to the team from MSNAP and gave us outstanding reviews to help us achieve the award.

“It’s also really positive for local people who use our service and our partners including GPs who now know the ‘excellent’ standard of service they will receive when they are referred to us.”