Using personal information to improve care when the person with dementia is not able to provide this

You are reassured that when you are not able to provide the detail and personal insights as to what matters to you, your likes, and dislikes, who matters to you and what your wishes are; that this that personal information is written down and available for people who are supporting you.

For extra information, evidence and best practice please scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Regional offerings

Dementia Wellbeing Plan for Greater Manchester; Dementia United

The Greater Manchester dementia wellbeing plan promotes personalised planning conversations with people living with dementia and carers about their needs and wants. The plan ensures an improved standard of care planning for people living with dementia and also facilitates sharing across the system. It will be available as a standardised plan which can be accessed and shared digitally between practitioners; as well as being available from the website for people affected by dementia to be using when having person centred care plan reviews
Weblink: https://dementia-united.org.uk/dementia-wellbeing-plan/

Dementia United

Working towards improving the quality of life for people living with dementia or caring for someone who has dementia, supporting people to live as independently as possible and providing access to services when needed.
Weblink: https://dementia-united.org.uk/

Understanding the Law Around Dementia: a Guide for Carers and Partners of People Living with Dementia

This presentation is covering:

Mental Capacity

Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment (ADRT)

Life Sustaining Treatment

Making a Will

Disclaimer: This document was prepared by students, is based upon the law as it stands as of 25th October 2022 and may be subject to change; it is intended as a guide to practice and does not amount to legal advice. It is not a substitute for legal advice upon the facts of any specific case. No liability is accepted for any adverse consequences of reliance upon it.

ESRC Presentations

National offerings

Alzheimer’s Society

The Alzheimer’s Society provides reliable and up to date information to help you with every aspect of living with dementia.
Telephone: National Dementia Helpline: 0300 222 1122. Open 9.00am. – 5.00pm. Monday to Friday & 10.00am. – 4.00pm. Saturday and Sunday.
Weblink: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

Dementia UK

Dementia UK is a national charity, committed to improving quality of life for all people affected by dementia. They provide Admiral Nurses, who work with family members and carers in all care settings along with a helpline for family members or carers who would welcome accessing advice and support.
Telephone: 0800 88 6678
Email: direct@dementiauk.org
Weblink: https://www.dementiauk.org/

Evidence

Each person with dementia is different: when it comes to offering support, different things are helpful for different people. Knowing the person, their history, and interests, and understanding how dementia is affecting their life is crucial if the support offered is to be genuinely helpful.

Research paper - Personal information documents for people with dementia, healthcare staff’s perceptions and experiences: "Person-centred care is internationally recognised as best practice for the care of people with dementia. The study indicated the need to complete personal information documents at an early stage following diagnosis of dementia, and the importance of embedding their use across care settings, to support communication and integrated care"

The-Framework-for-Enhanced-care-in-care-homes: "Care home staff should consider using personalised support tools such as the “This is Me” document and memory boxes to enable person-centred care and avoid potential distress."

Best Practice Resources

Using personal information to improve care. Details recorded about the person with dementia should help staff to understand and anticipate their needs and involve them in decisions about their care. This included documents such as:

Videos on the importance of getting to know the person and different examples: https://www.scie.org.uk/dementia/after-diagnosis/knowing-the-person/.