DEMENTIA
Expert Care
Dan Hayes, Chief Executive at the Orders of St John Care Trust, discusses the pivotal role that Admiral Nurses play in delivering the best possible care for dementia sufferers.
Our ambition is to provide the highest quality person-centred care to everyone we support. At the Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT), we are committed to ensuring our employees and homes are best equipped to give our residents the best possible care. Ensuring we are meeting the particular needs of people living with dementia - expected to grow to over one million by 2025- is a growing concern for us. Part of the solution is making sure we have the right people working in our 72 care homes and 16 extra care housing schemes.
A key part of this approach is our Admiral Nurse Service, which has been developed through collaboration with the charity Dementia UK. These specialist nurses represent the very best in dementia care, and we are proud to have six Admiral Nurse posts out of only 200 in the country.
Admiral Nurses are registered nurses that specialise in dementia care, giving expert practical, clinical and emotional help to OSJCT employees, and families of people living with dementia. As well as those working in care homes, we also have two community-facing Admiral Nurses who provide support to family carers of people living with dementia in their own homes. The OSJCT Admiral
- 18 -
Nurses facilitate Memory Cafes and support groups within our services, open to residents’ families as well as community-based family carers and people living with dementia.
Our Admiral Nurses have vast experience and knowledge of the condition, so are excellently placed to lead on OSJCT’s specialist dementia training programmes, which are endorsed by Dementia UK. A diagnosis of dementia brings uncertainty and fears from both employees and families, and Admiral Nurses are on hand to answer any questions that people may have about the disease and its progression. They are passionate about enhancing residents’ well-being and quality of life and provide excellent examples of relationship-centred care practices to our employees.
The Admiral Nurses act in an advisory role to help employees understand the complex behaviours that can be associated with dementia. They support care teams to recognise triggers for behaviours such as pain or infections. As a result of this work, OSJCT’s antipsychotic medication usage in relation to behaviours has reduced from around 16% to 2-3% over the last seven years.
When things get challenging or difficult, the one-to-one emotional and practical support of an Admiral Nurse can be a real lifeline for people living with dementia and their families. For example, they can give advice on communication skills and techniques, support with referrals to other services and agencies, and provide bespoke workshops for employees on issues ranging from sexual relationships and dementia to recognising pain.
Through the expertise of our Admiral Nurses, we strive to be a care provider and employer of choice. Employees tell us they have gained confidence and competence through working with the Admiral Nurses and families say they have a better understanding of dementia which enables them to maintain strong relationships with their loved ones during the sometimes emotional transition into long-term care.
www.osjct.co.uk
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
