Dr Frances Duffy, a consultant clinical psychologist specialising in dementia care, equips caregivers with practical education to manage challenging situations and alleviate stress for people living with dementia.
- Working in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Frances developed CLEAR Dementia Care© to reduce stress for people living with dementia and their carers and maintain living arrangements, which led to cost savings though increased efficiency and reducing in-patient care.
- The CLEAR- AI project successfully secured funding from the first round of the prestigious Longitude Prize on Dementia from the Alzheimer’s society and Innovate UK.
- As Founder and CEO of 6D-Dementia Ltd., Frances secured funding from TechStart and Innovate UK to develop the 6D Dementia online Training Platform which aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan, aiming to support the enhancement of care for people with dementia within hospitals, at home, in care homes and community settings, through quality education and training.
Dr Frances Duffy, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and founder of 6D-Dementia Ltd, joined the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme as an innovator from Northern Ireland within cohort 6.
With over 15 years’ experience in clinical psychology, Dr Duffy works within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, supporting dementia care and older people’s mental health. She plays a pivotal role in assisting caregivers and care staff who support people living with dementia, whether they reside in their own homes or within care facilities as their conditions progress.
‘1 in 11 people over the age of 65 have dementia in the UK’- UK Parliament
Whilst working in mental health care, Dr Duffy observed that people living with dementia frequently experienced distress or exhibited behaviours that caregivers found challenging to comprehend. Unfortunately, the caregivers’ responses often unintentionally exacerbated stress rather than alleviating it and would cause additional challenges for both the person and carer.
“Around 90% of people with dementia present with behaviours that carers find difficult to understand and manage. These include aggression, pacing, vocalising, exit-seeking and sexually inappropriate behaviour, which can lead to unnecessary breakdown in living arrangements or hospital admission. They often present because of misunderstanding or because of the distress the person experiences trying to cope with the daily challenges of living with their condition.”
Dr Frances Duffy
This led Dr Duffy to explore how she could support these carers to recognise, understand and correctly respond to unmet needs to reduce potential distress for both parties. She developed CLEAR Dementia Care © supported by her department at the Northern Health and Social Care Trust Dementia Home Support Team (DHST).
CLEAR Dementia Care © assists caregivers in understanding behaviour within the context of the person and their environment. Through a straightforward assessment process, it explores contributing factors to behaviour, to identify unmet needs and timely interventions. The goal is to reduce stress and enhance the quality of life for people living with dementia.
Dr Duffy also developed the CLEAR Dementia Care App, which provides information on dementia, dementia types, brain health, symptoms, and behaviours. The App includes a behaviour recording function, communication examples, colourful illustrations, and case studies to enhance understanding from the person’s perspective.
The impact of CLEAR Dementia Care © has been very positive, and in 2016, the team won Innovation of the year at the Alzheimer Society Dementia Friendly Awards. Additionally, within the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT), the CLEAR led to a 50% reduction in clinical episode duration and face-to-face contacts. Clinician outcomes improved, distress decreased for people with dementia, and cost savings were achieved through reduced inpatient admissions and successful discharges.
Following the initial success, other organisations in Northern Ireland and the UK heard about the CLEAR outcomes and sought support. Consequently, Dr Duffy developed the CLEAR Dementia Care training programme, and has successfully delivered training to NHS Trusts, Care Homes, voluntary organisations in the UK, and healthcare institutions in Jersey and the Republic of Ireland.
Dr Duffy then explored further challenges around the breakdown in living arrangements of people at home. Often due to the misunderstanding of behaviours, a person would move to a care home or if there was high risk associated with a behaviour, would result in a hospital admission and prescription medications, despite potentially significant side effects.
To address challenges in living arrangements and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, Frances spearheaded the CLEAR-AI Project in collaboration with NHSCT. CLEAR-AI leverages technology to work toward a personalised AI model for remote care, to enable people with dementia to remain in their homes for as long as possible. This initiative was one of the successful projects awarded the first round of the prestigious Longitude Prize for Dementia, funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK. This resulted in a research partnership with Ulster University, Age NI, and the Public Health Agency Northern Ireland.
The CLEAR-AI platform interprets data from a range of connected smart sensors, apps and devices, to model the daily routine of the person with dementia. Analysing this data and training the AI model enables the platform to identify the types of events and activities that precede episodes of distress. Using these models, healthcare teams can initiate interventions into daily schedules that reduce or mitigate distress where it is likely to arise.
People living with dementia access the full range of services within healthcare, in addition to a range of services within local communities. To effectively support people as they engage with these services, there is a need for system wide training to improve quality of care and support equitable access in local communities. Frances developed 6D Dementia to meet the demand for training across the broad spectrum of services.
The 6D Dementia Training Platform is a tech-driven solution designed to improve dementia care by offering accessible, comprehensive training for caregivers and healthcare professionals. The platform incorporates advanced technologies, making it scalable and user-friendly. Developed in collaboration with Professor Joan Condell and experts from the Data Innovation Hub, the prototype has already garnered positive feedback from care home staff and clinical teams and commissioners across NHS Trusts.
Supported by funding from TechStart and Innovate UK (Northern Ireland Launchpad Life and Health Sciences), the platform is set for a full release in December 2024. It provides role-based access, allowing organisations to manage data and track key performance indicators like training progress. The platform features bite-sized, multimedia training modules that can be accessed flexibly, reducing disruption for healthcare professionals. Personalised learning paths allow users to focus on areas most relevant to their roles.
6D also offers consultancy services to help organisations develop bespoke dementia care pathways, improving clinical outcomes. 6D addresses the urgent need for solutions to help manage complex patients, reduce caregiver burnout, and improve care quality in both community and hospital settings. It also supports the financial sustainability of healthcare services.
The platform aligns with national priorities, such as the NHS Long Term Plan and NICE guidelines (2018), focusing on early intervention and psychosocial approaches to managing behaviours that challenge in dementia care. It also offers the essential training identified in The Workforce Strategy in Adult Social Care (Skills for Care, 2024) which sets out ambitions on how to address workforce needs by attracting, retaining, and training the workforce to improve the experience of both staff and patients.
“The goal is to reduce carer burden and enable those with dementia to live at home with as much independence as possible, for as long as possible.” *- Dr Frances Duffy.
During her journey, Dr Duffy learned about the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme through an email from her NHS trust. Driven by her passion for finding innovative solutions to enhance the experiences of those in need of support and access to services, she applied and successfully enrolled as part of the Northern Ireland cohort in 2022.
The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme has empowered Dr Duffy’s entrepreneurial journey by granting her access to a vibrant community of fellow entrepreneurs, facilitating knowledge sharing and valuable experience exchanges. Additionally, the programme has offered her access to mentoring, unique entrepreneurial education, and skill development, fostering her growth as an innovator within the healthcare sector.
“As a consultant clinical psychologist, I possessed strong clinical skills, but venturing into entrepreneurship has introduced me to a whole new world. The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme proved invaluable by prompting me to explore areas beyond my clinical expertise, including scaling my innovation and emphasising the importance of partnerships.
Collaborating with remarkable individuals has been brilliant and made me understand that my unique skills are important, but I also need other complimentary talents around me to make my innovation a success.
The Pit Stop educational events have been exceptional, introducing me to topics I had never encountered before. Additionally, the networking opportunities provided a wonderful chance to connect with entrepreneurs from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, allowing us to share insights and learning from our respective journeys.
My key piece of advice to other healthcare innovators is to not give up- perseverance is key. Surround yourself with a supportive network of exceptional individuals—they’ll be instrumental in your journey.”
Dr Frances Duffy
Looking to the future
The 6D Dementia Training Platform is poised for future growth as it expands and adapts to meet the evolving needs of healthcare providers.
“We have already developed new training content and customised care pathways for our first NHS customers. These clients will be among the first to access the 6D platform, launching in December 2024, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Through collaboration with experts like Professor Joan Condell from Ulster University and the Data Innovation Hub and, we will continuously monitor platform engagement and user evaluations. This will allow us to refine the platform proactively based on feedback and user needs.”
Dr Frances Duffy
The team employs a hybrid model that integrates multi-media training content with live webinars, facilitating continuous skill development and direct user engagement. This dynamic approach ensures the learning process remains adaptable and responsive to user needs.
Dr Duffy has already garnered interest from various stakeholders and the team plans to expand their outreach by engaging with care homes, local authorities, and NHS trusts, providing demonstrations of the platform’s benefits in enhancing care quality, operational efficiency, and cost savings. The platform’s credibility is underscored by the significant interest generated through word-of-mouth and recommendations.
“The platform is versatile and accessible, not only for healthcare professionals but also for family carers, GPs, the police, ambulance, and prison services. Role-based access ensures that the content within the 6D Dementia Training Platform is tailored to different users based on their roles. This approach enhances the platform’s relevance for everyone from caregivers to healthcare professionals. Providing access to specific content pertinent to a user’s role fosters better communication across teams, ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned in their approach to dementia care using a shared, common language. This ultimately improves the efficiency of care coordination and understanding when addressing the needs of people living with dementia.
As we establish 6D in the UK and Ireland, we will actively seek partnerships to expand internationally, further enhancing our impact on dementia care globally. If you are interested in learning more about the consultancy and training programme or exploring potential collaboration opportunities with our team, please get in touch!”
Dr Frances Duffy
For more information, please click on the links below.
Frances is part of our Northern Ireland Cohort. The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme is proud to be working in partnership with HIRANI and Invest NI to extend the programme to healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland. Read more about our Northern Ireland Collaboration.
*References:
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/about-dementia/what-is-dementia/
- https://www.ulster.ac.uk/news/2023/june/ulster-university-awarded-80k-by-longitude-prize-on-dementia-for-ai-model-that-will-detect,-prevent,-and-monitor-agitation-in-people-living-with-dementia
- https://www.northerntrust.hscni.net/2024/05/16/trail-blazing-research-secures-longitude-prize-on-dementia/
- https://www.rqia.org.uk/RQIA/files/c8/c8a4735a-d7c3-4943-967d-3cbe5ed79e24.pdf
- https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/clear-dementia-care/id1536147244
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nhsct.clearcare
- https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/clear-dementia-care/id1536147244
- https://www.northerntrust.hscni.net/services/dementia-services/clear/clear-dementia-care-app/
- https://nhscep.com/2022/04/27/our-entrepreneurs-frances-duffy/