Extra questions - dementia care
When considering specialised care options there are other extra issues to consider:
- Do staff regularly interact in a respectful, warm and caring way with residents?
- Does the home operate a specialised dementia programme e.g Eden Alternative, Spark of Life etc.?
- Is there a collaborative relationship with family e.g. are they involved in making or revising care plans?
- Are residents engaged in meaningful activities? How do staff oversee these?
- Do staff manage behaviour that bothers them or other residents in a skilled and sensitive way? What do they do if they can’t manage? (There should be a policy to minimise the use of restraint.)
- Are staff members qualifications displayed? (Staff should be well qualified and their training ongoing.)
- Is there a plan for how the service will manage the person’s changing needs over time?
- Is there free and easy access to parts of the building and grounds?
- Is the home designed to help residents orientate themselves and decrease anxiety ? e.g. Are there visual cues (e.g. the common symbol of a toilet on toilet door) and few locked doors and ‘dead-ends’?
