Dementia care
Covid-19 and innovating dementia care
Bernadette Mossman, healthcare director at care provider Vida Healthcare, discusses how dementia care can be innovated through the mental and physical health of care home residents and staff, and how Covid-19 has impacted the way that dementia care is delivered
The number of people with dementia is set to double by 2050 to over 16.2m people in Europe, and 2m in the UK, leading to a significant increase in demands on our health and social care services. It is therefore never been more important for dementia care to be prioritised as the ageing population continues to grow. People living with dementia generally
need more support from care providers than those without dementia. In addition to arranging what can often be complex healthcare, participating in medical decision-making, and coordinating support services, care home operators must keep residents safe and address the behavioral and psychological symptoms experienced by 80 to 90 per cent of those diagnosed with the disease. Moreover, people living with
dementia and those who care for them directly should have the opportunity to experience positive outcomes and quality of life. Care providers that offer innovative care solutions are better
placed to support people living with dementia and their families, monitor the effectiveness of different solutions on chronic conditions, and generate further unique strategies for mitigating behavioural and psychosocial symptoms.
What is innovative care? From the point of view of understanding and delivering innovative care for people living with dementia, it makes sense to support people with similar needs and to ensure the right people are employed to offer appropriate and consistent levels of care and support to individuals. An environment that not only meets
current care needs, but is able to progress with individuals as they move through their care journey is conducive to innovative care provision. In terms of care homes, assigning designated teams to different areas can encourage specialisms to develop among staff. As people progress through their care
journey, particularly for those living with dementia, their needs will change but
the requirement for innovative care and enrichment does not diminish. Everyone needs purpose and fun experiences to maintain a meaningful life, and it is important that this is considered in care provision. However, it is important to make sure the right entertainment is being delivered for each individual - everyone is different. Care home operators and their
staff need to be adaptable and able to reflect the needs of the individual they are interacting with at the time. This is crucial to ensure care can be consistently innovated, is person-centred and flexes to the needs of each resident, no matter the level of care they require. Insight and understanding into what
it might be like for care home residents can support innovation in dementia care, particularly when it comes to up- to-date learning and an understanding of any symptoms and experiences. This will enable staff to deliver care in a sympathetic and effective way, and make it easier for them to connect with residents.
What is missing? Although dementia care continues to innovate, there are still areas where improvement is required. More research is needed investigating how we develop and test innovative care targeted at improving the quality of life and other outcomes of relevance for people living with dementia in residential long-term care settings. Technology-based interventions
may improve care delivery for persons living with dementia. We would like to see research focus on how assistive and other technologies may allow care providers and people living with dementia to live happy and healthy lives, and remain as
18
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • August 2021
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
