Reflections upon the development of a dementia screening service for individuals with Down’s syndrome across the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Area

Accessible summary•  People with Down’s Syndrome are at a high risk of developing dementia, and as such research encourages services to take a proactive approach by providing baseline and regular screening assessments to this population. •  This paper provides a description of the process of development of the Down’s Syndrome and Dementia Service currently operating in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley area of East Lancashire. •  A reflection on experiences of the service 12 months after the addition of a full‐time Assistant Psychologist and input from an Older Adults Consultant Psychiatrist is also discussed.Summary The high prevalence of dementia in individuals with Down’s syndrome has led learning disability services in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley (HRV) area to develop a screening service to address this need; this paper offers reflections upon this process by its members after the first 12 months of operation. A multidisciplinary team comprising professionals from Learning Disability Psychology, Learning Disability Speech and Language Therapy, Learning Disability Community Nursing and Older Adults Psychiatry has developed, and begun to implement, screening care pathways. The service conducts routine screening assessments, provides intervention for individuals where concerns arise and delivers training to carers. At the point of writing, 27 service users have received screening assessments and six have been identified as at moderate–high risk of developing dementia. Reflection and feedback has highlighted issues for consideration throughout the service development process, and an evaluation of the training provided by the service has found this to be effective in increasing carers understanding about dementia and learning disabilities. Considerations for the future development are discussed.