We have a diverse team of clinicians who will use their specialist skills and knowledge to assess whether it is dementia or a mild cognitive impairment that is causing your memory problems, and to ensure that you get the appropriate treatment.
Who are the clinical team?
We have a specialist team of nurses who have considerable experience and knowledge about dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
Our service has five specialist nurses (Julie, Michaela, Claire, Allie and Karen), and a nurse prescriber (Garry). This group is led by our lead specialist nurse, Alison Melling.
We have four doctors (Rachel, Esme, Lucy and Rupert), two consultant psychiatrists (Kristina and Victoria) and a pharmacist prescriber (Gill). The clinical leadership is shared by our GP Clinical Lead, Dr Rachel Duncan and our two consultant psychiatrists, Dr Kristina Antonova and Dr Victoria Lukats.
What the clinical team does
The specialist nurses take the lead with the assessment process within our service.
They will:
Complete a thorough and holistic assessment of any changes in how your mind is working
Work with the wider clinical team, including our doctors and consultant, to consider the diagnosis
Talk to you about the outcome of your memory assessment
Our nursing team are supported by experienced doctors and consultants who are part of the multidisciplinary team. This approach brings together our collective skills and knowledge when considering each person’s assessment, diagnosis and treatment options. This helps to make sure that everyone gets the help that is right for them.
The clinical team supports everyone with a diagnosis of dementia with:
Follow up tests that we may need to make to help with your diagnosis
Prescriptions for medications if this is appropriate for you
Ensuring that your medication doses are right for you
Support with managing any side effects from medication
An annual medication review
We meet as a multidisciplinary team to discuss assessments - our consultant and the other doctors in our service are always present at that meeting. It’s the whole clinical team who make the diagnosis decision.
Alison, Lead Specialist Nurse
How to contact the clinical team
If you would like to speak with the clinical team about your assessment, diagnosis or treatment, speak to your Memory Support Worker or call our team of Patient Care Advisors.
