A TEAM of experts are helping people with dementia to stay in their care homes by demystifying episodes of challenging behaviour.

Furness now has its own group of dementia specialists who visit sufferers in residential and nursing homes across the area when the disease becomes difficult to manage.

It has so far reduced the proportion of dementia patients admitted to mental health wards from 52 per cent to just four per cent - saving health bosses around £700,000 a year.

The Care Home Education and Support Scheme, known as Chess, has proven so successful it is now being implemented in other areas of the country.

Consultant Dr David Storm, the man behind the innovative move, said the advantages were far-reaching - with dementia sufferers themselves benefitting the most.

"Ultimately, it's about helping care home staff to understand the behaviour of residents with dementia so they can stay where they are - in their community and near to family and friends.

"The teams do this by going out and getting to the bottom of why a resident has started to behave in a certain way.

"This is helping to reduce the number of people who need to be moved to one of our inpatient units and the reliance on chemically restraining people."

The Furness Chess team are based at Dane Garth, at Furness General Hospital, and are employed by the Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust.

Care homes call and request a visit whenever necessary.

Previously, people who began to show signs of challenging behaviour - a symptom of advanced dementia - would be assessed at an inpatient unit before a placement was found for them at a specialist unit.

Dr Storm, who is also CPFT's senior clinical services manager, explained pain and reverting to past routine can often be interpreted as challenging behaviour in people with dementia.

"Someone with dementia might not be able to communicate that they are in pain.

"We've also found that someone who starts getting up in the middle of the night was previously a milkman or a farmer so it was once normal for them.

"Chess was set up to help understand this behaviour and educate the care home staff about it to keep people in a familiar environment."