A partnership between local organizations in Cheshire East aims to support the nearly 5,000 people over age 65 living with dementia in the region through an online peer support site called DemenShare.com. DemenShare.com provides information, raises awareness, and facilitates social support networks to help address the growing challenge of dementia, which costs the UK economy £23 billion per year. Since launching in October 2010, the site has attracted over 400 registered users and thousands of visitors who spend an average of six minutes accessing resources.

1. A partnership between
Cheshire East Council, Age UK Cheshire,
Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust
and Zero

2. Cheshire East is the third largest unitary authority
in the North West next to Manchester and Liverpool
In Cheshire East there are estimated to be
almost 5,000 people over the age of 65
living with Dementia:
• 65% are likely to be women
• One in five people over 80 has a form
of Dementia
• One in 20 people over 65 has a form
of Dementia
• 18% of Cheshire East’s
population is over the age of 65 –
the highest percentage in England
compared to 16% nationally, and
2.4%, or 8,200 people, are over the
age of 85 compared to 2.2% nationally

3. 821,884 people in the UK live with Dementia
Dementia costs the UK economy £23 billion per year.
This is more than cancer (£12 billion per year) and heart disease (£8 billion per year) combined.
How the £23 billion cost of dementia is met
Long term institutional social care and informal care costs make up the majority of the £23 billion figure.
Most of the cost of dementia - £12.4 billion per year - is met by unpaid carers.
Social care costs are £9 billion, health care £1.2 billion and productivity losses £29 million
820,000 in the UK - The total number of people with Dementia in the UK is forecast to increase to 940,110 by
2021 and 1,735,087 by 2051, an increase of 38% over the next 15 years and 154% over the next 45 years.
Diagram courtesy of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust report ‘Dementia 2010’

4. Aims.
 Local, explore and
test.
 Raise awareness.
 Grow peer support.
 Citizen led
solutions.
 Blend in.
 Live customer
insight.

5. The site had to be:
 Welcoming.
 Super simple.
 Comfortable/accessi
ble.
 Well
designed...aimed
primarily at women?
 Informal &
trustworthy.

6. Don’t forget
DemenShare.com
for dementia support in
central and east Cheshire

11. Site statistics
• We currently have 438 people registered with the site
• Since the launch on 14 October 2010 www.DemenShare.com
has had 5,373 unique visitors, and 8,808 total visits
• A high proportion of visits come directly to
www.demenshare.com
(32.5% of visits) 51.5% are from Google and other search
engines, and 16% from referring sites
• The 2,371 page titles (each heading within a discussion group
links to a separate page) have been viewed a total of 51,160
times
• Visitors spend an average of 6 minutes browsing the site and
view approximately 6 pages in that time
• The site has had 8,808 visits from 71 countries/territories and
has been read in 57 languages.

12. The Benefits
• easy access to timely, relevant information..24/7
• potential to form social support networks offline
in their own communities
• having online friends and Diane who understand and can
empathize with their situation and signpost them to help/others
who share their situation and can advise from experience
• stress reduction – they are listened to and engaged with.
• raising awareness...including decision takers!
• finding and keeping on pathways, social care outcomes.
• improved coordination & building resilience.
• increase in volunteering!
• diversity
• beyond “engagement”.

13. The Benefits for GPs
• opportunity to be associated with a cutting edge, innovative
initiative which is delivering results for people living with dementia
• free up GP time by providing an alternative support service
to refer patients/carers to
• potential to improve patient outcomes
• potential to improve quality of life for patients and carers
• an opportunity to shape the service that DemenShare delivers to
the GPs own community e.g. via involvement of dementia advisors
• connect to the “social”!

14. Efficiencies
• Insight leading to redesign/recalibration.
• Peer support and dementia.
• Partnership working/fresh resource.
• Better outcomes are more efficient outcomes.
• Prevention of the need for acute services.
• Increase take up of DP.
• CCG`s.
• Improving diagnosis and referral times.
• Connection to commissioners.

15. If you would like to know more about DemenShare
please contact:
• Jill Greenwood Cheshire East Council
• Ken Clemens Age UK Cheshire
• Sue Benson Cheshire East Council