Friday 25 May 2018

Action for dementia care and support - Changes associated with dementia

Welcome to the last of my five blog posts for UK Dementia Action Week 2018 (DAW2018)

This year Dementia Awareness Week is renamed Dementia Action Week to reflect the need for action for people affected by dementia rather than only focusing on awareness.

In this spirit, I’m sharing the ‘Key Messages’ from my dementia care and support training modules. The training, devised entirely by me and heavily based on personal experiences from my dad's life with dementia and the many other people I've met who are living with dementia, is something I've delivered to numerous frontline social care staff as a standalone learning experience or to supplement the bespoke training and mentoring that I provide to individual services and organisations.

I've never shared these materials online before, and I'm hoping by doing so now I will inspire positive action amongst health and social care providers who are supporting people living with dementia and their families.

Day 5: Changes associated with dementia

My fifth module is called ‘Changes associated with dementia' and covers: 
  • Looking beyond ‘Challenging behaviour’ 
  • Unmet needs
  • Mental, physical and emotional feelings and experiences and relating these to the person’s needs
  • Reacting and responding through positive support
  • Non-pharmacological interventions
  • Pharmacological interventions
  • The national policy on antipsychotics
  • Being a detective
  • Working on your approach
  • Seeing the person
It concludes with:
Key Messages for 'Changes associated with dementia'
For me these key messages, whilst very basic to many of us, are something every person providing care and support for anyone affected by dementia should live and breathe by.
Of course, there is so much more to what is in a 3-hour training session than I could convey in a short blog, but to give you a flavour of what this is like in 'real life' the module is the start of opening up conversations about viewing the changes associated with dementia (not 'challenging behaviour') through the lens of unmet needs, how to support the person's emotions and experiences, and different approaches to alleviate the person's symptoms.

Everything I do asks learners to put themselves into the shoes of the person, so in this module learners think about their experiences of supporting a person with changed behaviour, and use 'real life' scenarios to explore some common changed behaviours through the eyes of the person experiencing them.
**ACTION FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROVIDERS**
PLEASE PRINT THE KEY MESSAGES IMAGE ABOVE AND PIN IT ONTO A NOTICEBOARD THAT ALL OF YOUR STAFF CAN SEE.
For more information on my training and mentoring consultancy work, please see my website: http://www.bethbritton.com.

Thank you for supporting my blog during Dementia Action Week 2018.

Until next month...
Beth x







You can follow me on Twitter: @bethyb1886
Like D4Dementia on Facebook

Thursday 24 May 2018

Action for dementia care and support - Living with dementia

Welcome to the fourth of my five blog posts for UK Dementia Action Week 2018 (DAW2018)

This year Dementia Awareness Week is renamed Dementia Action Week to reflect the need for action for people affected by dementia rather than only focusing on awareness.

In this spirit, I’m sharing the ‘Key Messages’ from my dementia care and support training modules. The training, devised entirely by me and heavily based on personal experiences from my dad's life with dementia and the many other people I've met who are living with dementia, is something I've delivered to numerous frontline social care staff as a standalone learning experience or to supplement the bespoke training and mentoring that I provide to individual services and organisations.

I've never shared these materials online before, and I'm hoping by doing so now I will inspire positive action amongst health and social care providers who are supporting people living with dementia and their families.

Day 4: Living with dementia

My fourth module is called ‘Living with dementia' and covers: 
  • ‘Living with dementia’, ‘Living well’ and ‘Living better’
  • An asset-based approach
  • Working side-by-side with the person
  • Independence, choice and control
  • Risk and disagreement
  • The empowerment movement
  • Occupation, activity and lifelong learning 
  • Social connectivity and community life
  • Day-to-day living
  • Markers of living well and advice from a person living with dementia
  • Key staff skills
  • Human Rights and the Mental Capacity Act 
It concludes with:
Key Messages for 'Living with dementia'
For me these key messages, whilst very basic to many of us, are something every person providing care and support for anyone affected by dementia should live and breathe by.

Of course, there is so much more to what is in a 3-hour training session than I could convey in a short blog, but to give you a flavour of what this is like in 'real life' the module is the start of opening up conversations about everything that goes into supporting a person to live as well as possible with their dementia. 

Everything I do asks learners to put themselves into the shoes of the person, so in this module learners think about how to support a person to live as well as possible in lots of everyday situations, and use 'real life' scenarios to identify, support and work with the person to maintain their skills.
**ACTION FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROVIDERS**
PLEASE PRINT THE KEY MESSAGES IMAGE ABOVE AND PIN IT ONTO A NOTICEBOARD THAT ALL OF YOUR STAFF CAN SEE.

For more information on my training and mentoring consultancy work, please see my website: http://www.bethbritton.com.

Tomorrow (25 May 2018) I will look at 'Changes associated with dementia'.

Until then...
Beth x







You can follow me on Twitter: @bethyb1886

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Action for dementia care and support - Communication and dementia

Welcome to the third of my five blog posts for UK Dementia Action Week 2018 (DAW2018)

This year Dementia Awareness Week is renamed Dementia Action Week to reflect the need for action for people affected by dementia rather than only focusing on awareness.

In this spirit, I’m sharing the ‘Key Messages’ from my dementia care and support training modules. The training, devised entirely by me and heavily based on personal experiences from my dad's life with dementia and the many other people I've met who are living with dementia, is something I've delivered to numerous frontline social care staff as a standalone learning experience or to supplement the bespoke training and mentoring that I provide to individual services and organisations.

I've never shared these materials online before, and I'm hoping by doing so now I will inspire positive action amongst health and social care providers who are supporting people living with dementia and their families.

Day 3: Communication and dementia

My third module is called ‘Communication' and covers: 
  • The building blocks of communication
  • Environments and sensory loss
  • What a positive interaction looks and sounds like
  • Talking and listening
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Responsiveness
  • Life stories
  • Teamwork and creativity
  • Feelings and emotions
  • Validation verses reality orientation
  • Coping with communication difficulties
It concludes with:
Key Messages for 'Communication'
For me these key messages, whilst very basic to many of us, are something every person providing care and support for anyone affected by dementia should live and breathe by.

Of course, there is so much more to what is in a 3-hour training session than I could convey in a short blog, but to give you a flavour of what this is like in 'real life' the module is the start of opening up conversations about communicating with a person who is living with dementia, and takes a step-by-step approach that looks at every element that goes into creating positive and meaningful interactions. 

Everything I do asks learners to put themselves into the shoes of the person, so in this module learners experience a demo of unpleasant communication examples, reflect on a film featuring a person living with dementia, and use 'real life' scenarios to think about how they might respond in particular communication situations.

**ACTION FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROVIDERS**
PLEASE PRINT THE KEY MESSAGES IMAGE ABOVE AND PIN IT ONTO A NOTICEBOARD THAT ALL OF YOUR STAFF CAN SEE.

For more information on my training and mentoring consultancy work, please see my website: http://www.bethbritton.com.

Tomorrow (24 May 2018) I will look at 'Living with dementia'.

Until then...
Beth x







You can follow me on Twitter: @bethyb1886
Like D4Dementia on Facebook

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Action for dementia care and support - Being person and relationship centred

Welcome to the second of my five blog posts for UK Dementia Action Week 2018 (DAW2018)

This year Dementia Awareness Week is renamed Dementia Action Week to reflect the need for action for people affected by dementia rather than only focusing on awareness.

In this spirit, I’m sharing the ‘Key Messages’ from my dementia care and support training modules. The training, devised entirely by me and heavily based on personal experiences from my dad's life with dementia and the many other people I've met who are living with dementia, is something I've delivered to numerous frontline social care staff as a standalone learning experience or to supplement the bespoke training and mentoring that I provide to individual services and organisations.

I've never shared these materials online before, and I'm hoping by doing so now I will inspire positive action amongst health and social care providers who are supporting people living with dementia and their families.

Day 2: Being person and relationship centred

My second module is called ‘Person and relationship centred care and support' and covers: 
  • The foundations of person-centred care and support
  • Individuality, choice and control
  • Understanding the person and their preferences, qualities, needs, abilities, interests and aspirations
  • Individualising support
  • Wellbeing
  • The foundations of relationship-centred care and support
  • Working with families
  • Person and relationship centred care and support as a therapy to alleviate distress
  • Key staff skills
It concludes with:
Key Messages for 'Person and relationship centred care and support'
For me these key messages, whilst very basic to many of us, are something every person providing care and support for anyone affected by dementia should live and breathe by.

Of course, there is so much more to what is in a 3-hour training session than I could convey in a short blog, but to give you a flavour of what this is like in 'real life' the module is the start of opening up conversations about
 what person and relationship centred care and support is, and how staff can provide it for the people they are currently supporting. 

Everything I do asks learners to put themselves into the shoes of the person, so in this module learners think about the 
preferences, qualities, needs, abilities, interests and aspirations of a person they support, and they break down how they would provide person-centred care and support in 'real life' scenarios.

**ACTION FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROVIDERS**
PLEASE PRINT THE KEY MESSAGES IMAGE ABOVE AND PIN IT ONTO A NOTICEBOARD THAT ALL OF YOUR STAFF CAN SEE.

For more information on my training and mentoring consultancy work, please see my website: http://www.bethbritton.com.

Tomorrow (23 May 2018) I will look at 'Communication and dementia'.

Until then...
Beth x







You can follow me on Twitter: @bethyb1886
Like D4Dementia on Facebook

Monday 21 May 2018

Action for dementia care and support - The basics of dementia

Welcome to the first of my five blog posts for UK Dementia Action Week 2018 (DAW2018)

This year Dementia Awareness Week is renamed Dementia Action Week to reflect the need for action for people affected by dementia rather than only focusing on awareness.

In this spirit, I’m sharing the ‘Key Messages’ from my dementia care and support training modules. The training, devised entirely by me and heavily based on personal experiences from my dad's life with dementia and the many other people I've met who are living with dementia, is something I've delivered to numerous frontline social care staff as a standalone learning experience or to supplement the bespoke training and mentoring that I provide to individual services and organisations.

I've never shared these materials online before, and I'm hoping by doing so now I will inspire positive action amongst health and social care providers who are supporting people living with dementia and their families.

Day 1: The basics of dementia

My first module is called 'What is dementia?' and covers: 
  • Facts and fiction
  • Current statistics
  • The different types of dementia
  • The needs of minority groups - including BAME, LGBT, people with learning disabilities and younger-onset dementia
  • The symptoms of dementia
  • Other conditions with similar symptoms
  • Living with long-term conditions alongside dementia
  • Progression, ‘stages’ and the life course with dementia
  • Dementia research
It concludes with:
Key Messages for 'What is dementia?'
For me these key messages, whilst very basic to many of us, are something every person providing care and support for anyone affected by dementia should live and breathe by.

Of course, there is so much more to what is in a 3-hour training session than I could convey in a short blog, but to give you a flavour of what this is like in 'real life' the module is the start of opening up conversations about the types of dementia, symptoms and experiences of the people staff are currently supporting. 

Everything I do asks learners to put themselves into the shoes of the person, so in this module learners think about what they might experience if they themselves were living with particular symptoms of dementia.

**ACTION FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PROVIDERS**
PLEASE PRINT THE KEY MESSAGES IMAGE ABOVE AND PIN IT ONTO A NOTICEBOARD THAT ALL OF YOUR STAFF CAN SEE.

For more information on my training and mentoring consultancy work, please see my website: http://www.bethbritton.com.

Tomorrow (22 May 2018) I will look at 'Person and relationship centred care and support'.

Until then...
Beth x







You can follow me on Twitter: @bethyb1886
Like D4Dementia on Facebook