Demystifying dementia Module one: Providing person-centred care

This module covers: 1.1 Providing individual care for people with dementia 1.2 Focusing on the individual not the illness in the context of relationships and family 1.3 The impact of the physical, social and emotional environment

At the end of this module you will be able to: Define and explain person-centred care Describe the impact of dementia on a person, their family and significant others Identify the impact dementia can have in terms of assisting a person with dementia Describe the feelings and needs of a person with dementia Describe the factors in the environment that can impact on a person with dementia Learning outcomes 3

From “Opening Shutters – Opening Minds” by James McKillop What is it like to have dementia? 3

Providing individual care Encouraging positive social interaction (relationships) in care by working with the person with dementia, their families, our care workers and our care environments (physical and social). 4

Best practice 5 The person The family The environment The staff Relationships Philosophy of care

What is a Philosophy of Care? Definition: The core values an organisation uses in delivering their services. Your organisation has values which you and the organisation agree are important or of value in the workplace Core values = Philosophy of Care or Mission Statement Actions are greater than words! 6 6

Examine your organisation's philosophy or mission Is it clearly defined? Does it help staff work effectively together? Does it have the support of Management? Does it help you in your daily work? Is it alive in your service? 7

What are the benefits? A guideline to help with decision-making A tool to allow people and the service to all move in the same direction Must be alive in the workplace Unites everyone (care workers, clients and family carers) in a common purpose! 8

In the context of relationships and family Improve the quality of life for people with dementia Try to understand people with dementia and what matters to them Appreciate the uniqueness and individuality of each person with dementia 1.2 Focus on the individual not the disease 9

An individual or person centred approach entre espect nable ccept C A R E 10

Explore a person’s Background Abilities Culture Relationships Health Likes and dislikes Disabilities Centre 11 The better we know the person behind the illness the more likely it is that we will treat them as an individual.

Do not take what people with dementia people say or do personally - it is the illness that is the problem What works for one person may not work for another person. There are no magical solutions Spend time to save time Accept 12

Respect Instead of seeing the illness as dominating the person we see the person first and the illness second Understand and respect the individual and what they value Support participation, choice and independence Maintain dignity 13

Enable Maintain skills, abilities, dignity and self esteem Provide opportunities for the individual’s growth. Maintain safety and feelings of security Focus on the relationship and uniqueness of the person. Through our caring relationship and physical and social environment you: 14

Traditional care Disease and deficit Dysfunction Irrational Cognitive symptoms Behavioural symptoms and ill-being Task focused Person-centred care Abilities & strengths Active coping Rich emotional world ‘Personhood’ & sense of self Quality of life and well being Relationship focused 15 Comparison of care approaches

Know the person – background habits, individual needs (centre) Understand the person – especially their behaviour, communication, individual needs, abilities and limitations (accept) Respond to the person – in ways they understand and know (respect and enable) In a nutshell 16

Do my actions value and honour people? Do I recognise individual uniqueness? Do I make a serious attempt to see my actions from the person’s perspective or stand point? Do my actions provide the support for people who I care for to feel socially confident and to feel that they are not alone? 17 My Person Centred Checklist

1.3 Impact of environment What do we mean by ‘environment’ ? Physical – bricks and mortar Social – communication and interactions Emotional – atmosphere and feelings 18

Making the most of the environment Minimise background noise Clear signs at eye level ( e.g. for toilets) Play music that is relaxing in the background Manipulate the environment to suit the person’s needs (lights to the toilet at night, toilet door open) Get the person involved in everyday activities around their house Make the area more homely and domestic 19

1. Put your Philosophy of Care / Mission into action 2. Person first, illness/dementia second - try to see the person behind the illness 3. Individual/person centred, relationship focused 4. CARE - Centre, Accept, Respect and Enable REMEMBER… Get to know the person then you will understand the person and know how to respond individually to the person 20 Key Messages