Dementia

Dignity in dementia: improving care in general hospital settings

Over the last 12 months the RCN has led on a national project about the care of people with dementia in general hospitals: Dignity in dementia; improving care in general hospital settings.

The project has involved surveys of practitioners, people with dementia and carers about how to improve care as well as consultation with a range of other organisations and key people – see RCN Dementia project.

The RCN’s dementia project lead, Rachel Thompson, describes the latest tools being developed to help improve the care of people in general hospital settings in a podcast recorded for the RCN Bulletin published on 7 September 2011. Listen to the podcast (mp3 3.73MB).

Commitment to improving care in general hospitals

A commitment to the care of people with dementia in general hospital settings, and resources to support it, were launched on Wednesday 21 September 2011, at the conference Making sense: working in partnership to improve dementia care in general hospitals at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool. Read more about the commitment and access the resources to join us in putting the commitment into practice. Make SPACE for good dementia care: an easy way of remembering the commitment. 

The aim is for this commitment to be used as a guide to support the delivery of dignified care for people living with dementia and their families, within general hospital settings. It sets out key principles and considerations for promoting a positive experience for people with dementia and their families and can be used by staff to help support improvements and make positive changes.

Further information about the conference and copies of the presentations are available at RCN dementia project.

Inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs - call to action

The RCN is working with NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and the Dementia Action Alliance to support their current call to action to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers by reducing the inappropriate use of antipsychotics for these people.
To join up to the on-line community to support the Right Prescription including a specific action group for those working in hospitals see: The Right Prescription: a call to action on the use of antipsychotic drugs for people with dementia. 

RCN Public Lecture 2012

The RCN held its first public lecture on 27 March 2012 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. It was on the topic of dementia - see the programme (PDF 43.6KB). A number of the presentations from the event are available for viewing.
Nurturing the person with dementia and their carer (PDF 76.8KB) - Barbara Pointon MBE.
Nursing: making a difference in dementia care (PDF 3.03MB) - Rachel Thompson, Dementia Project Lead.

Online Dementia resource 

This RCN Dementia resource, developed as part of the project, aims to provide you with a range of information about dementia in general and links to other resources that will help promote better understanding of the needs of people with dementia, their families and carers. It points to some of the most recent information sources available on dementia which are relevant to all care settings, and includes:

• information to support understanding dementia
• resources for supporting people with dementia and understanding their needs
• resources for supporting carers and understanding their needs
• learning resources such as interactive e-learning and courses/training
• best practice examples illustrating the commitment to improving care in general hospitals  
• national strategies,standards and guidelines influencing the provision of care across the UK
• details of agencies and networks
• information specific to different care settings
• resources you can use to discover more.

We hope that these resources will provide some useful information and guidance for nurses, health care assistants and anyone involved in supporting people with dementia and their families.