Dementia Training Programme

Primary Care Dementia Training Programme

Please find below information on an exciting upcoming training programme centred around dementia.

These sessions will cover a wide range of topics including: Recognising early signs & symptoms of dementia, pre-referral assessment, differentiating dementia, delirium and depression, pharmacological management of the different dementia subtypes, post-diagnostic support in the community, behavioural and emotional expressions of unmet need in dementia, advance care planning / end of life in dementia and many more.

These sessions will take place online on the Learning Management System on the below dates from 13:00 - 14:00:

• Wednesday 15th October - Prevention and Early Recognition
• Wednesday 12th November - Detecting and referring possible dementia
• Wednesday 19th November - Depression, Delirium and Dementia Subtypes
• Wednesday 28th January
• Tuesday 3rd February
• Wednesday 11th February
• Wednesday 25th February

Details and booking pages will be updated ahead of each session.

Please note each session is booked separately.

Prevention and Early Recognition - Wednesday the 15th of October

The session will focus on recent advances in dementia prevention, with an emphasis on what we can practically say and offer to patients in our clinical contacts. It will introduce you to how and when to consider a referral for dementia to specialist services, both in older and younger onset age groups.

Speaker for the session: Dr Emma Parry

 Dr. Emma Parry is a Consultant Older Adult Psychiatrist at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, and serves as the West Midlands Regional Specialty Representative for the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry.

Since 2017, Emma has worked within the Early Intervention in Dementia Service, where her clinical role focuses on the assessment of cognitive changes and the diagnosis of dementia. She is particularly passionate about dementia prevention through lifestyle medicine, with a special interest in the impact of perimenopause and menopause on brain health and long-term dementia risk.

Emma has previously presented at local and regional levels on promoting brain health during midlife, and has recently contributed to a forthcoming book on brain health in menopause.

Detecting and referring possible dementia - Wednesday the 12th of November

Learning objectives:

• To learn the defining features of dementia, as a syndrome or disability of change in cognitive skill, caused by change in brain health. The spectrum of severity and underlying pathology.
• To be familiar with common presentations of dementia in primary care, with emphasis on history and soft signs
• To understand the role of testing mental skills
• To develop skills to differentiate dementia from other memory presentations, including mood, medication side effects, sleep disorders, menopausal symptoms etc.
• To understand the what specialist assessment would be like for a patient and the pros and cons of assessment.
• To consider the role of choice and consent and the need to talk openly about dementia at the time of referral.
• The referral pathway for suspected dementia

Speakers for the session: Dr Bernard Coope and Dr Adrian Vos

Bernard Coope began work as a consultant old age psychiatrist in 1999, initially in Birmingham and then moved to Kidderminster in 2005. During his time in Worcestershire he worked as Associate Medical Director, Honorary Senior Lecture with Worcester University Assocation for Dementia Studies, and helped set up the Early Intervention Dementia Service.

Depression, Delirium and Dementia Subtypes - Wednesday 19th November 

Learning objectives:

To be able to define and clinically differentiate delirium and dementia

To be able to describe and recognise reversible causes of cognitive impairment

To appreciate the complexities of diagnosing and treating depression in older adults

To be aware of the main dementia subtypes including clinical features and epidemiology

Speaker for the session: Dr George Blanchard

Dr Blanchard is a consultant Old Age Psychiatrist for the Redditch and Bromsgrove Older Adult CMHT, covering Redditch locality. He completed his training in General Adult and Old Age Psychiatry in 2024, having trained in Hertfordshire, London and the West Midlands. His interests include sleep medicine, neuropsychiatry and psychopharmacology.

For support and enquiries please email traininghub@taurushealthcare.co.uk