Dementia Support Service
Congratulations! Your home currently has a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ CQC rating from its last inspection. But if you haven’t been inspected for a couple of years, then your next grading is due soon. And you can’t afford to let it slip.
Dementia-Behavioural and Psychological Management Support Services
The Challenge
In our quest to improve the quality compliance in nursing and residential care homes, we have come across the lack of evidenced based training to manage complex dementia/mental health care needs.
The challenges in managing complex care needs have a ripple effect on the quality of care as well as meeting the CQC Key Line of Enquiry (KLOE).
For example, one of our clients, faced a safeguarding (S42) investigation due to poor management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Our expert advanced dementia care practitioner put in place a comprehensive behavioural management plan supported with staff training. This resulted in the S42 being unsubstantiated, and the home was able to provide better “holistic” person centred care to the resident. The home team was confident to admit further residents with complex care needs.
What is BPSD?
Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) include a range of neuropsychiatric disturbances such as agitation, aggression, apathy, anxiety, irritability, hallucinations, disinhibition, sleep-wake cycle disturbance, to name a few (Smith & Buckwater,2005). While the presence of cognitive impairment is necessary and sufficient for a diagnosis of dementia, associated neuropsychiatric symptoms – known collectively as behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, or BPSD – are prevalent and can significantly impact the prognosis and management of dementia.
FACTS:
- 90% of people with dementia will experience behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) – (Brodarty et al., 2001)
- Staff need to develop skills in non-pharmacological management of BPSD (Banerjee, 2009; Brooker et al.,2016; Ballard et al., 2020).
- NICE (2018) recommend psychosocial interactions as first line of approach and emphasize importance of assessing medical conditions and pain.
- Most BPSD will reduce after four weeks without pharmacological treatment (Livingston et al., 2014)
- Pharmacological treatments often used as first line despite modest efficacy and problematic side effects (Maidment et al., 2018)
Our Dementia – Behavioural and Psychological Management Service supports staff in residential and nursing care settings with expertise, advice, short-term or long case management interventions.
A support service for people living with dementia who are experiencing changes in behaviour that impact their care.
Support is provided through:
- Telephone or visit contact with our Advance Dementia Care Specialist.
- Phone or in-person assessment and support of the person living with dementia and their environment.
- Timely, in-person assessments of the person living with dementia and their environment to assess the causes of non-cognitive symptoms termed “neuropsychiatric” or “behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) such as aggression, agitation, some types of psychosis to name a few.
- Development of tailored behaviour management care plan to address assessed needs.
- Advice, non-pharmaceutical strategies and written recommendations based on research on how to manage BPSD. Tailored recommendation can support with CHC funding.
- On-going support and guidance to implement the recommendations and adaptations to those recommendations.
- Specialised service could improve occupancy and weekly cost.
- Bespoke evidence-based training – (Understanding behaviours that Challenges Us and de-escalation strategies using Person-Centred Care Approaches – Care Planning – Providing meaningful activities – The use of non-pharmaceutical approaches – All these are linked to KLOEs and NICE guidelines and the Dementia Training Standards Framework Tier 2
- Support and coaching in modelling of the strategies and recommendations.
If you want to ensure a great service for your residents, and support your care home team with the latest dementia care training, please call us on
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