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Dementia

Dementia is now the leading cause of disease burden for older Australians*. With an ageing and growing population, it is predicted that the number of Australians with dementia will more than double by 2058 to 849,300. However, it doesn’t just affect the person living with dementia – it also affects carers, friends and family.

Diagnosing dementia can be difficult due to the insiduous onset of the disease. Recognising the early signs can be challenging in a primary care setting, and patient denial of cognitive changes can further complicate the picture.

Yet, striving for an early diagnosis is important, and GPs can do this effectively with the right probing, investigations and cognitive testing.

Sydney North Health Network is offering the Dementia Quality Improvement Program to all General Practices in the region. The program provides support to participating practices to analyse current dementia care management and develop individualised plans to support implementation of evidence-based best practice care.

For more information or to express an interest to participate in the Dementia Quality Improvement Program, please complete this Expression of Interest form.

REFERRALS AND PATIENT SUPPORT

National Dementia Helpline 1800 100 500.  Free 24-hour telephone service providing information and advice to anyone concerned about cognition changes or who has received a diagnosis of dementia, and their family, friends and carers, and for Health Professionals that have patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The Helpline can provide emotional support and guidance, help to navigate services and programs and provide information and advice.

GPs can make a referral at any time.  Request the GP Referrer Kit here 

Dementia Support Australia Programs:

DBMAS (Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service):  Phone/in-person consultation within 7 days, providing tailored advice and strategies to address challenging behaviours. For people with dementia living at home or in residential aged care.

SBRT (Severe Behaviour Response Team): In person consultation within 48 hours with tailored advice and strategies to address challenging behaviours that are severe in nature.  For patients in residential aged care only.

GP Advice Service: tailored clinical advice from a medical specialist to help GPs to manage symptoms of BPSD.

Health Pathways Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

Proveda Northern Sydney Dementia Advisory Service provides advice and assistance to people with dementia and their families and can link them with other people with dementia and their carers. Phone 1300 002 262. 

My Aged Care and dementia 

Northern Sydney Home Nursing Service (NSHNS) provides community-based nursing care to people at home and in clinic environments

Rapid Response Aged Care Teams home-visiting services for patients at risk of needing hospital. They assess and treat older people experiencing a new decline in health and work closely with Ambulance. Urgent referrals will be home visited within 1-24 hours and non-urgent referrals will be seen within 1 week. Available: Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm.

Lower North Shore and Ryde/Hunters Hill Aged Care Rapid Response Team –ARRT

Hornsby/Kuringai Geriatric Rapid Acute Care Evaluation –GRACE

Beaches Rapid Access Care for the Elderly – BRACE 

Sydney North Health Network, the Improvement Foundation and a local expert reference panel collaborated to develop quality indicators to support improvement in dementia care in general practice nationally, including detection, timely diagnosis and management.

The Dementia Quality Improvement Program (DQIP) commenced in Feb 2018. The program provides support to participating practices to analyse current dementia care management utilising the specified indicators. Practices are participating in small group workshops and peer support programs to develop individualised improvement plans to support implementation of evidence-based best practice care.

For more information or to express an interest in any of these opportunities, please complete this Expression of Interest form.

The Northern Sydney Dementia Collaborative was established in 2014, with assistance from the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation’s “Building Partnerships” program, which aimed to form alliances that work together to integrate care for older people with complex health needs. Nowhere is this more needed than in people with dementia. There are a range of services available in Northern Sydney for people with dementia and their carers. However, information about these services and how to access them is not well understood by the people who need them the most or by health professionals. It is estimated that over 12,000 people in Northern Sydney are living with dementia and this figure will continue to grow as the population ages.

National Dementia Helpline 1800 100 500.  Free 24-hour telephone service providing information and advice to anyone concerned about cognition changes or who has received a diagnosis of dementia, and their family, friends and carers, and for Health Professionals that have patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The Helpline can provide emotional support and guidance, help to navigate services and programs and provide information and advice.

DBMAS (Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service): Phone/in-person consultation within 7 days, providing tailored advice and strategies to address challenging behaviours. For people with dementia living at home or in residential aged care.

Proveda Northern Sydney Dementia Advisory Service provides advice and assistance to people with dementia and their families and can link them with other people with dementia and their carers. Phone 1300 002 262.

Memory Problems Brochure Northern Sydney – Information for people with dementia and their carers

Northern Sydney Carer Support information, guidance, and support that is practical and local to help carers find the right services for their needs

Carers Australia Phone 1800 242636.

Carer Gateway

Advance Care Planning and dementia

Local Dementia-friendly Councils and Communities

Dementia-friendly cafes and support groups promote social inclusivity for those living with dementia, as well as their friends, relatives and carers. Those who live with dementia can often feel isolated and lonely so these spaces have been created to encourage people with shared experiences to meet.

Get in touch with your council or local Dementia Alliance to access a number of local resources for older people and those living with dementia and their carers.

Become a Dementia Friend

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Jacqui Emery

Jacqui is a passionate advocate for equity in healthcare and an accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience across the not-for-profit, corporate, and media sectors.

Most recently, she served as CEO of Royal Far West, where she championed access to developmental, mental health, and allied health services for children in rural and remote communities. Her work has driven early intervention, education, and advocacy initiatives that have influenced policy and funding outcomes nationwide.

Jacqui’s deep commitment to creating opportunities for those who need them most aligns perfectly with SNHN’s vision:continuing to work collaboratively to help our community live their best health.

Ramon del Carmen

Ramon is a senior organisational leader with extensive experience in highly competitive and heavily regulated environments including banking and telecommunications as well as the not-for-profit health sector with over 12 years of CEO experience and 9 years of CFO experience. He combines innovation and strategic thinking with strong leadership to deliver results in challenging environments that are undergoing significant and time-critical change.

Ramon is currently a non-executive director and Treasurer of Bobby Goldsmith Foundation and held previous non-executive director positions with Your Side Australia and Primary and Community Care Services (PCCS).

Ramon has a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Sydney, an MBA and MA (Business Research) from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountant Australia and New Zealand, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Eugene McGarrell

Eugene has more than 45 years of experience in the health, social and wellbeing sectors across the UK and Australia, with roles in clinical, community development, management, and executive leadership. As CEO of Healthy Australia, he led initiatives like Safe, feedAustralia, and Thriving Together, which promoted children’s health and learning. He introduced innovative approaches in workers’ compensation, such as social prescribing, to prevent injuries and aid recovery.

A systems thinker, Eugene advocates for challenging convention and disrupting the status quo to address complex social problems. His career began as a mental health nurse, and he has worked across government and social services to tackle issues facing vulnerable communities. Notably, in 1998, he co-led a project in Kingston that reduced suicide rates by 40%.

Eugene co-designed The Collective NSW in 2013, bringing together community, government, and business to break the cycle of disadvantage, leading to successful initiatives like the Greenway Wellbeing Centre and SILC. He is dedicated to empowering communities to design their own solutions and improve health, social, and economic outcomes.

He holds a PG Dip in Care Policy and Management from London Guildhall University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sara Warburton

Sara is a skilled strategic leader with a wealth of experience in customer-centric leadership roles within the health and care sector. Her extensive career spans senior positions in business development, strategy, marketing communications, service innovation, and operational excellence across both the UK and Australia.

Sara has demonstrated her expertise in both for-profit and non-profit sectors, as well as within government contracts, where she has successfully driven organisational transformation programs and enhanced access and experience for patients and communities. Her dedication to excellence is further demonstrated by her volunteer roles, including serving as a Strategic Advisor to Frontline Yoga and most recently as Chief-of-Staff for a mental health startup.

Sara holds a Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Business Management from Oxford Brookes University and has completed the MBA Essentials Course at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Additionally, she participated in the development of the McKinsey Not-For-Profit Executive Leadership Program and has informally studied behavioural economics and technology in healthcare.

Deb Pallavicini

Deborah’s general management responsibilities include teams working with and supporting primary healthcare providers across our region, including General Practitioners and Allied Health Professionals. Her strategic approach to role responsibilities provides solid direction for those teams engaged in quality improvement, chronic disease management, digital health, emergency response, improved service integration, corporate communications, and marketing. Deborah is also responsible for directing the Clinical Engagement team, ensuring our professional members’ capabilities are continually enhanced for delivering the right care to our local community at the right time and place.

With over 12 years of experience working as a Practice Manager in medium to large General Practices, Deborah has also worked with the Improvement Foundation (IF), taking part in the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives on two occasions. The experience she gained over this period has translated into a strong and practical understanding of the Primary Care environment and the importance of Quality Improvement for enhancing patient outcomes.

Deborah’s experience at SNHN is inclusive of involvement in the development and rollout of quality improvement programs inclusive of dementia management in general practice and broader chronic disease management programs; the COVID-19 response across the region’s primary care providers inclusive of RACFs, coupled with the later rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Deborah holds a Master’s in Health Management focusing on Quality and Safety in Healthcare and a Graduate Certificate in Health Science.