There are an increasing number of people living with dementia in care home settings. Recent reports suggest that people who deliver care to residents living with dementia in care homes require specialist support to provide optimum care. To address this need Four Seasons Health Care, the largest provider of care homes within the UK today, sought to design a dementia care framework that enhanced the quality of life for people living with dementia in their care homes. The framework was designed using a robust evidence base, engagement with people living with dementia, their care partners, policy-writers, multi-disciplinary professionals and people within the organization. This paper describes the methodology behind the dementia care framework and outcomes data from the first phase (of 20 care homes that included the care of 451 people living with dementia). The main outcome of was a significant improvement in the quality of the lives of residents across biological, psychological, social and spiritual needs.
Provision of dementia care has been evolving over the past number of years. The rise in person-centred approaches to care continues to flourish, particularly the enhancement of wellbeing and alleviation of distress through non-pharmacological interventions. While this is an important facet of dementia care, healthcare professionals must also have a good knowledge base about medications which are important for symptom management in dementia. This CPD article presents an overview of some of the most common medications which may be inappropriately prescribed and used within dementia care, such as antipsychotic, anxiolytic and sedative medications. Furthermore, this article will also consider some common medications which may be more appropriate for people living with dementia, such as cognitive enhancers and analgesia. This CPD article will aid healthcare professionals, who care for people living with dementia, in guiding shared decision-making about appropriate prescriptions of medications with people living with dementia, their family members and the extended multidisciplinary healthcare team.
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