Viability Analysis Of Dementia UK's Expansion To Offer Respite Care Home Services In London, Essay.

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

Case Study:

DEMENTIA UK

Dementia UK provides specialist services to those suffering with or affected by Dementia.

Currently

DEMENTIA UK offers emotional support and care to service users and their carers/families via:

- An at home outreach service
- A Telephone Helpline
- Email Support
- Information and Resources (online)

These services are provided by specially trained Admiral Nurses. Available at https://www.dementiauk.org/ (accessed on 7th December 2017)

Imagine that DEMENTIA UK would like to open a respite care home for service users and their families in London. Each service user would be allowed to stay in the respite home for up to 7 days at a time. The centre would encourage service users to undertake social activities, promote their independence and give the families of the service user support as required.

As an external Consultant, you have been asked to provide your opinion on the viability of this.

You need to write a report in which you:

1. Perform a PEST analysis to explore the viability of this expansion NB: it is expected that you will choose only one, specific London Borough to focus on
2. Suggest recommendations for managing this expansion. 
3. Additional Marks for the academic quality of the assignment 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Dementia is a disease which affects a vast number of people worldwide, especially the elderly. It reduces the retention and the cognitive abilities of the people and sometimes, the people are not even aware of the fact that they are suffering from the disease because of a lack of awareness regarding Dementia. The purpose of the project is to understand and analyze the work done by Dementia UK, a medical and nursing agency in United Kingdom and how they are working towards providing premium services to the patients of Dementia. The analysis of their work is done using the PEST analysis. Dementia is a major problem in the United Kingdom, especially in London with many people falling in the elderly category and becoming susceptible to the threat of dementia. The analysis concludes that Dementia UK can expand their services to all across the United Kingdom and in this way, they can offer their services to a large number of people. The prospects of doing so is immense and in the coming years, Dementia is going to be a major problem for not just the United Kingdom but globally.

INTRODUCTION

Dementia is a disease which affects many people worldwide. The elderly people generally are more prone to getting affected by Dementia. Dementia results in the decline of the memory and cognitive abilities of the person and the person becomes ineffective to use the mental abilities to retain information for long duration of time. The importance of treating Dementia is important because most of the patients being elderly, are left in a vulnerable situation due to their age. The awareness about the disease is less among the common public. The difficulty of treating the Dementia patients is aggrandized by the fact that the patients themselves, are unable to detect that they are suffering Dementia. The report attempts to understand and analyze the work done by The Dementia UK which provides medical assistance and admiral nurses to the patients of Dementia in the United Kingdom. Dementia UK provides expert and specialist support to the families who are afflicted by Dementia and treats the patients of Dementia.  The report attempts to understand Dementia and the work done by the Dementia UK and the various factors affecting the organization. The factors affecting the organization are analyzed using the PEST analysis. The recommendations as to how the company expand its services and how to benefit from the expansion are also elaborately discussed. The Recommendations are done based on the outcome of the PEST analysis.

DISCUSSION

Dementia is a disease, which has afflicted many people all over the world, and this disease is associated with the symptoms of loss of memory and other reduced thinking capabilities. The patients affected by this disease are reported to have a reduced ability to focus and cannot pay attention for long duration. The patients are also unable to perceive the visual images as well as reduced ability to reason and have a judgment. Dementia usually progresses gradually by going from bad to worse. If any person shows any symptom of dementia, then it is important for the person to contact medical assistance as soon as possible (Shah et al. 2015). In the United Kingdom, the cases of Dementia is high as a large number of patients are suffering fromDementia without even knowing the fact that they are suffering from it. The importance of spreading awareness about Dementia therefore, become highly important in the United Kingdom. Dementia UK is an organization which provides medical assistance to all the people, especially the aged people, who are suffering from Dementia and provides specialist support as well as nurses to assist the patients in overcoming the dreaded disease. The organization excels in providing expert Admiral Nurses as well as boasts of experience in the field of providing the services to the Dementia Patients(Dementia UK, 2018).

PEST Analysis

The PEST Analysis of the Dementia UK is as follows-

The Political Factors- Dementia is one of the biggest challenges faced by the people of the United Kingdom. The estimated figures reveal that the number of people suffering from Dementia is set to increase to about 1 million within 2021(Londonscn.nhs.uk, 2018). The politicians of the United Kingdom have also recognized the potential threat posed by the disease of Dementia and the former British Prime Minister David Cameron launched the Dementia Challenge in 2012 to address the issue of Dementia. The Government of the United Kingdom have also implemented the Dementia Strategy to tackle the problem of Dementia. The politicians of the United Kingdom have also formulated other Acts to check the threat of Dementia. The Equality Act of 2010 also provides equal rights to the Dementia patients. The Care Act of 2014 entrust the Local Authorities with the responsibility to cater to the needs and protection of the patients suffering from Dementia. The legislation provides a framework as to how to protect the dignity, protection against abuse, taking care of their health both physical and mental as well as emotional well-being. The Legislation also makes the Local Authorities to provide a platform for the patients suffering from Dementia so that they can contribute to the society and to participate in the functioning of the society (Challenge 2015). Doing this will enable the patients feel wanted and there will be a sense of belongingness. Dementia Patients need care and support from the other individuals so it is extremely important to be gentle and calm in front of the patients and to help them during their ordeal. These issues highlight the importance of providing better and expert nursing facilities to the patients of Dementia (Cardoso et al. 2014). Dementia UK has immense scope and opportunities to establish itself as a premier medical and nursing assistance provider to the patients of Dementia in the United Kingdom, especially in the London Borough Council. Dementia UK can also cater to the demands of a large number of patients all across the United Kingdom by expanding their organization to the major cities across the United Kingdom.

The Economic Factors-The number of people suffering from Dementia in the United Kingdom is about to increase in the years to follow and in this scenario, it is highly imperative to provide expert medical assistance to the patients in the United Kingdom.Most of the patients suffering from Dementia are in their old age and as a consequence, are not in the best of financial position. There is an acute need to provide a relatively cheap and cost-effective medical and nursing facility to the Dementia patients without compromising on the quality being provided. The patients of Dementia require the Family as well as the Community Support so that they are financed during their medical treatment. In the London Borough Council area, the problem is even more acute and according to statistics, around 25% of the population is over the age of 80. The number of people in London Borough Council are set to increase who will be over 60 years of age(Londonscn.nhs.uk, 2018). In the absence of genuine Care Providers for Dementia in the London Borough Council, the Dementia UK can exploit the situation by excelling in providing top level support and assistance to the patients of Dementia in London. Dementia UK can excel in gaining popularity among its clients and customers by providing quality nursing services to the Dementia patients without charging costly fees. The emphasis must be given to assist the patients of Dementia rather than focusing on exploiting the patients.

Political Factors

The Social Factors- The patients suffering from Dementia are subjected to a number of abuses and inequalities in the society. Dementia carries a social stigma attached with itself. It is therefore extremely important to treat the patient in a just and dignified manner so that they are not pressurized by the ordeal which they are undergoing. The patients of Dementia need to be treated in a very careful and sympathetic manner as they are in a very fragile state of mind and any harsh reaction towards them can have serious repercussion towards their mental health and can seriously affect them in their mental health (Rossor and Knapp 2015). Research has revealed that lonely people tend to develop extreme depression and depression often results in Dementia at a later stage. Therefore, it is advisable to encourage people to live in a family rather than living alone. The lonely people, especially those who are aged, need to be constantly supported and encouraged by the other members of the society (Theurer and Hall 2016).The need to address the dementia patients in a proper manner also becomes important and should be done by employing expert and experienced nurses and staffs who have dealt with dementia patients before. Dementia UK excels in providing expert and experienced nursing facilities to the patients can surely gain from the services they provide. The good services will reciprocate in the form of earning high revenues and will also help the organization earn impressive goodwill among the customers and clients.

The Technological Factors- The technological advancement in medical infrastructure greatly helps in solving the problems faced by the patients. The latest technological advancements are varied such as assistive technology in the form of motion detectors which can stimulate and enhance the retention ability of the memory of the patients suffering from Dementia.Research has revealed that technological simulations to increase the cognitive abilities of the dementia patients can also help in retaining information for a long duration of time. The interactive multimedia software has also proved effective in aiding the dementia patients to retain information and treat the disease of dementia.Technology can influence the lives of the dementia patients by addressing the Mild Cognitive Impairment through engaging the patients in positive mental exercises which enable the patients to keep their brain working and therefore helps in retaining information for a long duration. The patients of dementia, majority of whom are aged and senior citizens generally find it hard to use equipments which help in combating the problem of dementia. Mobile applications which also help in the development of the patients to retain information for a longer duration are also beneficial. It remains to be seen as to how the patients are trained by the practitioners and nurses to use the relevant technological advancement to their full maximum potential (Zahirovicet al. 2018). To fully serve the dementia patients, the modern state of the art technological advancements need to be incorporated into the treatment of the disease of dementia. Dementia being more common among the elderly people therefore it is important for the manufacturers of the equipments to also provide required trainers to guide and teach the elderly people as to how to use the equipments. The advancements in medical research regarding dementia can also aid in the prognosis and treatment of dementia.

Economic Factors

RECOMMENDATION

The increase in the number of Dementia cases in the United Kingdom poses a serious threat to the medical as well as the administrators. There is a constant need to assist the Dementia patients and cater to their needs and demands. Dementia UK can make a name for itself by offering premium nursing facilities to many patients by expanding itself all across the United Kingdom. In the London Borough Council alone, there are a large number of patients who are aged and suffering from Dementia. The importance and prospects of providing premium medical and nursing facilities to the Dementia patients is immense. Dementia UK can also help the poor patients by arranging the community members to support the patients through charity funding. Dementia UK should also arrange for training the Dementia patients and make them aware as to how to use the relevant software for their own benefits. Dementia UK should spread awareness among the common public regarding the disease of Dementia because generally it has been noticed that patients are not even aware that they are suffering from Dementia (Rossor and Knapp 2015). In the absence of premium nursing services for treating the Dementia patients, the Dementia UK can avail of the situation by advertising about the services they provide through online social media platforms as well as advertising in the newspapers and print media. The efficiency and expertise of their nurses can also boost the outcome and prospect of the organization as it will help propel the organization to earn the reputation and the goodwill of the patients and the customers. The essence of providing premium nursing facility in the London Borough Council is immense. Dementia UK must focus on expanding its services across all the United Kingdom. Dementia UK must make the patients participate in social events and gathering wherein the patients get a chance to communicate with each other and engage in positive communication with other members. Doing this will enable the patients to be cheerful and happy, as well make them use their cognitive abilities. Dementia UK must focus on meeting the needs and demands of the Dementia patients and addressing any complaints raised by any patient immediately. The more the positive feedback generated by the patients, the more chances of Dementia UK being considered as a reputed nursing agency. The goodwill which is shared from one person to another person or a group of individuals is highly effective in making an organization popular. This way, the organization is able to gain popularity without even spending for advertisements. Dementia UK must focus on improving its services and there must be constant scrutiny of its employees and the actions of all the employees, whether positive or negative must be dealt with accordingly.

CONCLUSION

From the above analysis, it can be concluded that the disease of dementia can be treated by properly diagnosing the disease in due time which requires the early detection of the disease. To detect the disease at the early stage, it is important for the people to have basic awareness about the disease. There are several medical agencies which cater to the needs of the Dementia patients in the United Kingdom. Dementia UK is one such organization which provides excellent and expert medical as well as admiral nurses to serve the needs of the Dementia patients. Various factors are influencing the business of the Dementia UK organization. The PEST analysis reveals that the Dementia UK can expand its business in a large way and has viable prospects for making huge revenues as well providing premium services for the treatment of the Dementia patients. The increasing number of Dementia cases in the United Kingdom has also significantly enlarged the need for having a premier medical organization which caters to the needs of the Dementia patients. The patients of Dementia are generally the elderly and the senior citizens. The patients being old, are normally dependent on others for support as well as financial assistance. The disease of dementia resulting in the reduced cognitive abilities of the patients makes them vulnerable to social stigma and abuse. Dementia UK can spread awareness among the families as well the social communities to make the people understand the basic symptoms and signs of the disease to detect the disease at an early stage.