Dementia resource: Managing risks from wandering or walking with purpose during COVID-19
HPFT are aware that care homes are in a very difficult position at the moment, trying to maintain safety of residents through social distancing, while working with individuals with dementia who cannot comprehend or retain the need for this. There is no simple answer for implementing the isolation and social distancing guidelines, as reasons for wandering are individual to the person, however this guidance from HPFT is to try to offer some ideas and suggestions to try. Where care homes are finding it difficult or impossible to find strategies to help to manage an individual, the Care Home Function Team are available to help and support. Referrals for support through the Specialist Mental Health Team for Older People can be made through SPA as usual.
See the full document from HPFT here
Dementia Resources: Ongoing Learning and Development
For support with ongoing Learning and Development, Skills for Care have a range of links, documents and ideas to manage all aspects of training.
See their resource library here
Dementia Resources: Top Tips for Tricky Times
Self-isolation and social distancing due to COVID-19 may have a significant impact on people living with dementia and their carers. As ever, it is important to take steps to support mental and physical wellbeing. The top tips for tricky times supported by the NIHR ARC East of England, NIHR ARC Kent Surrey and Sussex NIHR are useful resources in understanding how best to support someone living with dementia during this time.
- Helping care home residents with dementia to use video to communicate with their families
- Supporting residents who do not understand social distancing or self-isolation
- Providing physical comfort and reassurance with dolls during COVID-19
- Using music to provide comfort and reassurance for care home residents living with dementia
iCare Dementia
Created by Mental Health Nurse Cat Ritson, the iCare website provides user-friendly advice and guidance for care staff who want to gain further understanding about supporting someone living with dementia.
This comprehensive resource pack includes information about physical health, effective communication, best interest decisions, self-care and emotions management as well as a mental capacity assessment.
Please note this is currently a Suffolk resource.
The Blanket for Me
‘The Blanket for Me’ is a project launched in April 2019 in Hertfordshire. Its aim is to make and donate bright lap blankets to Dementia patients and promote awareness of Dementia in the community.
We’ve created a community on our Facebook and Instagram pages showing photos of the lap blankets made and sharing stories of recipients from the deliveries we have managed to make between lockdowns. So far we have delivered to over 13 care homes with Dementia patients across the UK!
The project has helped the community during lockdowns by providing a positive activity for people to engage with knowing that their lap blankets will be received with happiness and love by Dementia patients. We’ve also provided a channel for people to share their own experiences of living with someone with Dementia.
The latest lockdown has generated lots of lap blankets from across the UK which we are looking to place with Dementia patients.
If you are in Hertfordshire and care for Dementia patients we would love to hear from you and pass on our lap blankets!
We’d love to hear from both ‘care at home’ carers and care homes.
Just contact us via:
- Facebook & Instagram pages – The Blanket for Me
- Email: theblanketforme@gmail.com
- Mobile: 07778 424697
Mental health needs for older persons
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust have created some useful resources and contact sheets to assist managing mental health needs for Older Persons.
These resources include:
• A flow chat to help care staff consider possible causes to changes in emotions, behaviour, and functioning.
» Click here to view the flow chart.
• Posters showing hours and contact details for the service lines in East Herts, North Herts, Southwest Herts, and Northwest Herts (including Community and RTS, EMDASS, crisis and ICT Mental Health Nurses. As well as assessment and treatment wards and continuing healthcare wards).
» Click here for the Northwest Herts contact details poster
» Click here for the Southwest Herts contact details poster
» Click here for the East Herts contact details poster
» Click here for the North Herts contact details poster
• A poster showing contacts and management for mental health services in East, Southwest and Northwest Herts, plus routes for new referrals.
» Click here to view the poster
Dementia and LGBT people
The National Care Forum (NCF) has published a second paper focusing on supporting LGBT people with dementia. The UK is home to an estimated 1.2 million older lesbian and gay people, yet they are an invisible population and rarely acknowledged by service providers and commissioners. Whilst the existence of a National Dementia Strategy has helped to ensure that dementia is at the top of the national agenda and the Alzheimer’s Society estimates that there will be an estimated 1 million people with dementia in the UK by 2025, there is no specific reference to LGBT issues in the strategy.
This new paper, which NCF in partnership with The National LGB&T Partnership and the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group has produced, focuses on the needs of the LGBT communities, exploring how care professionals can provide more appropriate support.
Bob Green, Chief Executive, Stonewall Housing, said:
“More providers and commissioners need to learn from the good practice and key recommendations identified in this report and in our previous work following our roundtable event in 2014.
We look forward to working with our partners to improve evidence of our communities’ experiences and to continue to drive up standards of care for LGBT people with dementia.”
Des Kelly OBE, Executive Director, National Care Forum, said:
“Our new paper follows up on a roundtable convened by NCF/VODG and the LGBT Partnership to recognise there is an invisible population of 1.2m people likely to be affected by issues relating to dementia and people from LGBT communities. Highlighting best practice in this area is still difficult which is why a change is mindset is vital. Pioneering care providers are emerging to lead the way on the necessary change to improve services and we can learn from their experiences.”
» Download this report in full
» Download a copy of the press release