Dr Nitin Joshi of the Leicester City clinical commissioning group explained how the appointing of social mental health specialists would benefit the city's elderly: “Patients identified with underlying mental health conditions will be better supported so they can stay in their own surroundings which will immediately help them relax and feel safe as well as make managing their condition easier.” The service, which is supported by the Leicester City Council and subsidised by the Better Care fund, has already yielded positive results. A Mrs Whitmore whose husband has received help under the programme, said in an interview with the 'The Leicester Mercury' that “John (Mr Whitmore) started having problems with his memory so he was referred to the support worker by our GP (…) our support worker, Stephen, explained everything to us and made the process so much easier (…) we now have the peace of mind that if we have any worries or John’s memory gets worse, we can contact Stephen and he will give us the advice we need.”
So far a total of three specialists have been working with Leicester's elderly community to combat mental illnesses such as depression and dementia. Whether or not the service can be expanded will depend on next year's budget, however one thing is sure as Dr Joshi elaborated, “psychological, social and general health is closely linked to our quality of life.”
