Dementia can significantly impact an individual's cognitive and functional abilities, but proper care and support can enhance their quality of life by promoting their independence and wellbeing.
Dementia can have a significant emotional impact on the individual living with dementia and their loved ones. Care homes that specialise in dementia care provide essential support to help individuals and their families cope with the challenges that come with the symptoms. This type of care can be particularly helpful in supporting the emotional and psychological wellbeing of those affected by dementia.
People living with dementia may experience memory loss, difficulty with decision-making and judgment, and vulnerability to accidents and harm. Dementia care is crucial as it includes measures to ensure individuals' safety and prevent accidents.
There is no cure for dementia yet, but medicines and other treatments can help with the symptoms. Proper medication management is crucial for controlling symptoms and improving quality of life. Care organisations that specialise in dementia have a team of care professionals who are trained in medication management and can ensure each resident takes their medications as prescribed.
Engaging activities can help stimulate cognitive function and potentially slow the progression of dementia. Programs designed to challenge an individual's cognitive abilities are often included in dementia care.
People with dementia may experience problems with eating and drinking, and it's quite common for their appetite to change as their condition progresses. Dementia care can involve support with meal planning and feeding to ensure proper nutrient intake.
Dementia care often involves assisting individuals with daily living activities, such as bathing, toileting, and dressing, as individuals living with dementia may struggle with these tasks due to cognitive impairment.
Social isolation is a common problem faced by many people living with dementia. Dementia care often includes social programs, games, activities, and a person-centred approach focused on engagement, reminiscence, and community involvement to help individuals remain engaged and connected with their communities.
Dementia is progressive, which means signs and symptoms may be relatively mild at first but get worse with time. Dementia care involves long-term planning to address future needs, including legal and financial arrangements.
Dementia affects everyone differently, so it's important to communicate in a way that is right for the person. Dementia can impair communication skills, making it challenging for individuals to express their needs, wishes, and emotions. Carers trained in dementia care can use specialised communication techniques to improve understanding and reduce frustration.
Our Connected Care Platform, an all-in-one cloud-based care management platform that covers the full spectrum of care management through integrated solutions, significantly improves dementia care for people living with dementia.
Our digital social care record system, mCare, has many features that help with dementia care. For example, mCare's 'Who I Am' feature, modelled on Alzheimer's Society's 'This is Me' tool, helps improve the quality of information and ease of information sharing.
Along with other information, 'Who I Am' includes:
mCare's Hospital Pack feature automatically collates information from residents' 'Who I Am' profiles to ensure staff fully understand residents at every stage of their health and social care journey, which saves time and effort preparing documentation when someone is transported to an urgent care setting.
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports that individuals living with dementia are at higher risk of experiencing falls, even during the earliest stages of the condition. This can be due to dehydration caused by communication difficulties or forgetting to drink water.
mCare's Fluid and Nutrition Monitoring feature can easily avoid dehydration in care homes. Care homes can monitor and manage residents' hydration levels, ensuring they receive the necessary hydration to promote their overall health and wellbeing.
mCare has a long list of other features that help with dementia care. Book a demo today to find out more.
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Sometimes, it's assumed that people in the later stages of dementia are unable to engage in activities, but this isn't true. Exercise and physical activity can bring many benefits for people living with dementia.
Our Oomph! Wellbeing & Activities Platform, which provides 24/7 access to specialist activity programs tailored to individual needs, preferences, and interests, has over a thousand activity ideas to choose from. With helpful filters, such as 'dementia friendly,' care homes can add value and quality to a person's life, whether they have a diagnosis of dementia or not.
Click here for more information on the Oomph! Wellbeing and Activities Platform.
Health and social care professionals must have the skills and knowledge to support individuals living with dementia.
If you're interested in training and development opportunities for your staff or managers, our Oomph! Wellbeing & Activities Training for staff is the perfect solution for you and provides in-depth CPD-certified courses covering every aspect of wellbeing delivery.
We also offer a variety of workshops for care staff. For example, our 'Effective Communication in Dementia Care' workshop is designed to help care providers develop their understanding of the communication challenges that someone living with dementia may face.
Taking medications as prescribed is crucial for individuals living with dementia, but they may require assistance in doing so. Certain medications must be taken at specific times of the day, with or after meals, or on an empty stomach.
ATLAS eMAR, our electronic medication administration record system, helps care organisations transform how residents and carers experience and deliver care, from tracking medication administration to managing stock and inventory medications in real-time.
Cornford House care home, which mainly accommodates physically frail older people and offers nursing care support to people living with dementia, is 'thrilled' with ATLAS eMAR's technology.
''Since implementing ATLAS eMAR, medication rounds have been much more efficient, and staff are not 'rushed' to complete them - this allows them to give more attention and support to residents, especially those living with dementia.''
Lorraine Cousins, Care Home Manager, Cornford House
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