Dementia Strategy & developments in Borough Care

There are 750,000 people with dementia in the UK and this number is set to grow to over one million people by 2025.

Over 50% of Borough Care services are for people with dementia and the company has set its sights on making continued improvements to these services by developing a specific Dementia Strategy that encompasses evidence based best practice, education in dementia care and providing the right environment for people to live.

We believe that we have the right building blocks in place to become a leading provider of dementia services.

The best levels of care and support are achieved through effective and informed staff teams and good progress has been made, particularly in the area of staff education.  All new staff members undergo a detailed Induction course that includes an introduction to Dementia care, this is an introduction to our two stage dementia training programme. This consists of a one day Alzheimer's Society course, 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow', and a two day Stockport PCT based course which we now run ourselves, 'Dementia, Working in Partnership'. We re proud to say that that well over a hundred Borough Care staff have undertaken this training.

Over the year a baseline audit for the services to use for action planning was launched and a specific project group has been developed with the overall aim of developing a formal strategy for Borough Care that will take dementia services forward.

We aim to join the Dementia Action Alliance along which is made up of over 73 organisations committed to transforming the quality of life of people living with dementia in the UK and the millions of people who care for them.  Going forward we will be looking at ways to involve people with dementia and their families in developing and improving our dementia service.

Borough Care understands that professional carers are only a part of the care and support that a person with dementia needs.  This year Borough Care was invited to participate in a European Research programme being undertaken by the University of Manchester.  The study entitled: 'Right Time, Place, Care' is funded by the European Union, and is being conducted in eight countries for the next three years.  The purpose of the study is to look at the best ways of meeting the needs of older people with dementia and their informal caregivers. It aims to identify the best available health outcomes by measuring the quality of life and quality of care of older people receiving care at home and those living in long-term care homes. The findings will inform the development of best practice strategies across Europe for long term dementia care tailored to individual need.

For further information please visit: www.righttimeplacecare.eu

Overall at Borough Care we aim to ensure that everyone who uses our services is afforded the dignity and respect, care and compassion that they deserve.