How 'This is Me' can help in dementia care

Jenny Chalk and Stephanie Janka-Spurlock, Dementia Education Leads at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, talk about their work supporting and training colleagues on dementia, and how their work helps enhance the experience of people with dementia staying in hospital.

Dementia is a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of brain functionality. Most of us associate it with memory loss but it can also affect the way a person speaks, thinks, feels or behaves.

More than 11,000 people in Devon are living with dementia, and research show there are more than 944,000 people in the UK who have dementia. 1 in 11 people over the age of 65 have dementia in the UK.

Here in Torbay and South Devon, we support many of these people across our services, which includes out in the community, in their own homes, through our outpatient services and in our hospital wards.

People with dementia often rely on help from family or friends. This can be really challenging but with the right support it can be really rewarding. Lots of support is available, including through our local carers’ services, and the help we provide our colleagues helps them support the wider family too.

Our role is to work with colleagues and volunteers right across Torbay and South Devon NHS to provide training, advice and guidance to increase their knowledge and understanding of dementia. The support we provide is an essential part of the quality person-centred care that our organisation provides.

The training and education available ranges from basic dementia awareness training through to degree and masters-level education. Basic dementia awareness is part of the induction programmes for colleagues ranging from healthcare assistants and allied health professionals to meal time assistants and volunteers.

Staff on healthcare of older people wards are invited to a dementia education day three times a year, and we offer ‘pop-up’ training and study sessions on wards, in work areas and at team meetings. Our network of staff dementia champions does lots to raise awareness and share best practice, being on hand to signpost to appropriate training, advice and guidance.

We know that hospital stays can be a really disorientating time for people with dementia. Many people can’t remember why they were admitted initially, and for some people hospitals are an unfamiliar setting which can be unsettling. We have worked closely with teams to develop quiet areas and arrange activities that can help make our wards and departments feel more relatable to people’s homes.

An important part of how we care for people with dementia is through the ‘This is Me’ document. This is a really important tool providing a brief overview of the person, including what they enjoy, important life details and useful information to be aware of.

During a long hospital stay, a patient may experience anxiety and agitation, and they may deteriorate. This is Me helps our colleague understand the person quickly, finding things they enjoy talking about or suitable distraction activities or strategies that could help ease their anxiety. It provides information on their experience with dementia and even has information on favourite food and drinks.

On Wednesday September 6, our organisation is hosting a ‘living with dementia’ event which is an opportunity to listen to people’s experiences, learn about our future plans and for local people to find out how they can get involved to shape services and support in Torbay and South Devon. The event takes place between 2pm and 5pm at Torbay Hospital, and to find out more and to book people can email maria.luzzardi@nhs.net.

The event is part of our commitment to constantly continue improving the way we care for them, and we know we can’t do this without the input of people with dementia and those that care for someone who does.