Dementia care


Exemplar Health Care, we have kept the same colleagues working on our units so that people are supported by a consistent team who know them, which is fundamental to person-centred care. Our teams continue to be creative


in supporting people to take part in meaningful activities and engagement in our homes – including doing everyday living tasks such as laundry and cleaning to give people a sense of familiarity, routine and purpose. Where possible, we have brought the


outdoors inside when people are not able to go out. For example, our activities teams have supported flower arranging or plant potting inside, as well as creating indoor beaches, to support people to maintain their hobbies and interests. We have also made good use of


technology during times of lockdown. At the beginning of the pandemic, we purchased iPads for each of our homes which have enabled residents to stay in touch with their loved ones, as well as provided opportunities for meaningful activity, such as virtual tours of tourist attractions or playing music. The spaces in our homes have always


been personalised to the people we support, with decorations, photos and posters tailored to their interests – this became even more important during


the pandemic, as maintaining interests became key to combat loneliness and frustration.


Family/loved ones’ needs Families have found it incredibly difficult not being able to physically see and be with loved ones during the lockdown period. Throughout the pandemic, we have


supported people to keep in touch via video calls, using systems such as Skype and Zoom. When visiting was permitted, we implemented individual risk assessments to support safe visits, outlining what support individuals might need during visits. We also made all the efforts to ensure that visits happened when people wanted them. Several of our homes have assigned a


new family liaison role, whose responsibility is to keep in touch with family and friends, and facilitate communication between service users and their loved ones.


Multidisciplinary team needs Teams across the company, and externally, have utilised tools such as Skype and FaceTime to carry out assessments and discuss people’s needs to ensure that we can continue to provide high quality care during the pandemic. Where safe and appropriate, we have


allocated in-house specialists, such as quality managers and trainers, to specific homes so they can support colleagues without travelling between homes. We have continued to work with


external teams, such as community nurses and palliative teams, throughout the


April 2021 • www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


pandemic to maintain standards of care. We are also working as closely and


pre-emptively as we can with local GPs and other community-based services who are no longer able to make face-to- face visits to homes, to see and assess residents virtually.


Support for colleagues Care work is extremely rewarding, but can be inherently stressful. The pandemic presented unique challenges to colleagues, taking a toll on everyone’s wellbeing. Knowing that colleagues who are well,


happy and engaged are more likely to provide quality care, Exemplar Health Care implemented a ‘We Care’ package to support colleague wellbeing. We started working with a new


employee assistance programme partner to provide colleagues with 24/7 support from a team of trained counsellors, as well as growing our team of in-house mental health first aiders. Our specialist dementia quality


manager has continued to work with each home to provide training and identify the best ways to support residents living with dementia during the pandemic, so that we can continue to uphold the principles of person-centred care. This has been supported by short online videos and an enhanced eLearning schedule, so that we can continue to ensure that colleagues feel supported, and have the right skills and knowledge to maintain standards of care, despite the challenges of lockdown.


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