DEMENTIA A New Direction
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-05/Counting_the_cost_report.pdf http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia
With 1 in 4 hospital beds being occupied by people living with dementia over the age of 65 and an expected 152 million people with dementia by 2050, there is increasing momentum in developing and updating care guidelines for sufferers of dementia. The ‘New Deal on Dementia’ care guidelines from the Alzheimer’s Society and recently published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines mean that a new approach and direction for dementia care is needed for care home managers and care workers alike.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97
“Home managers should aim for at least 80% of their core care workers to have had training on Dementia and the Core Skills Framework on an annual basis.”
It has become imperative for home managers to prioritise dementia care and the Alzheimer’s Society are looking to work in partnership with organisations to support and empower them to improve dementia care. The Society, which has provided training at both a local and national level, believes that the key focus for managers and commissioners will be: training care workers, implementing the Dementia Core Skills and developing an Education Framework with organisations to provide an evidence base.
Home managers should aim for at least 80% of their core care workers to have had training on Dementia and the Core Skills Framework on an annual basis – this is the minimum compliance standard for the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
In addition to the minimum requirements, the Alzheimer’s Society would like to see home managers
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Edward Rhodes, Clinical Nurse Manager at Exemplar care home Greenside Court who also holds a research role at the Alzheimer’s Society, discusses implementing a new approach to dementia care.
example of how we have put this into practice at Exemplar is that we have worked with assistive technology to enable a person in our care with Lewi Body’s Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease to communicate via a Tobii Dyna Vox.
Edward Rhodes
driving care workers, empowering them and recognising their skills to make a career in care a desirable option for future generations. The society would also like to see dementia care become a skilled role to improve job satisfaction and retain skilled workers across the care sector.
For the care workers within the homes, it is their job to implement the new care into practice. This will include elements such as delivering a person-centred approach to dementia care and understanding the requirements of the person being cared for. In addition, the new guidelines will require care plans being written or updated, including end of life plans in early and late stage dementia.
As part of this, care workers should be looking at the individual holistically as a person, as opposed to the dementia they are diagnosed with. This will enable them to get to know the person they are caring for rather than the stage of dementia they are at. There will also be a focus on care workers enabling individuals with both early onset and late stage dementia to be a part of their local community, supporting them to have roles within society so that they do not become isolated.
There are several ways that carers can make a difference to the life of an individual with dementia. A recent
The communication device has increased his communication range and he is now able to communicate his needs and desires in a fluid manner, which has had a transforming effect on his mental and physiological well-being. His mood has liſted, and his demeanour has completely changed.
There are also some low resource ways in which dementia sufferers can be supported and included in wider activities – from attending dedicated dementia film screenings, visiting museums which refer to time periods that the person resonates with most and creating scrapbooks of family members and key moments in their lives.
The Alzheimer’s Society encourages contact from care home managers and staff and there are several Alzheimer’s Society volunteers, such as myself, who are happy to signpost people to the relevant individuals within the organisation. In addition, the Alzheimer’s Society holds an annual conference which focuses on current research being undertaken in the field of dementia and gives delegates an opportunity to network and learn more about action on dementia care at a local and national level.
The forthcoming Government Green Paper on ‘Older People’ will also have a focus area on Dementia and working with Parallel Processes to achieve better outcomes for older people. This will provide further guidance for organisations to develop their policies on dementia care and is likely to require some immediate actions from care providers to become aligned with the latest guidance.
www.exemplarhc.com www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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