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Government and Good Care Group Dementia Report Published

30/10/2015

The UK Homecare Association (UKHCA) recently published a report with the guidance of the Good Care Group as part of the government’s drive to deliver the Challenge on Dementia 2020 Initiative. The aim of the report is to provide simple and practical solutions to better dementia care within the community.

Above all else, the report attempts to demonstrate through examples how healthcare professionalism within a familiar environment is imperative for the development of a good living environment for those with dementia. The report makes it clear that quality homecare ought to be at the heart of policy making decisions.

The report also outlines what is needed to improve quality care and innovative practice across the homecare sector, and who is responsible. This is made clear in nine ‘actions for change’. Care providers, commissioners, regulators and health sector partners are all galvanised to take action.

The group involved in the creation of the report included family carers, policy makers, homecare providers and dementia specialists who all have a shared commitment to improving the experience of people living with dementia and their families.

The Dementia Health and Care Champion Subgroup on Homecare make the following recommendations and solutions, based on the findings of the report:
 

1. Champion homecare as the key facilitator of dementia care and information.

85% of people want to remain in their own home, yet it is believed that only two thirds of people with dementia do so.

Solution: Access to sustainable, quality homecare for everyone who needs it as a priority for commissioners.
 

2. Deliver a personalised approach focused on outcomes for the individual & their family.

Care should be focused on the needs and choices of the individual and their family and on enabling people with dementia to achieve the outcomes they wish.

Solution: A holistic assessment should be developed and delivered, covering a 360 degree view of needs regardless of the source of funding or care, using information and language which can be used and understood across the system.
 

3. Give greater flexibility for homecare providers to innovate and shape care with and for the individual.

Innovative dementia care at home that responds to people’s changing needs requires a degree of freedom and flexibility, to allow providers to implement and mould new ideas into everyday practice and to provide care in the way best suited to the individual.

Solution: Improved transparency and communication between commissioners and providers when negotiating care at home packages, and from regulatory inspectors and council monitoring teams to facilitate and drive good practice.

 

4. Recognise and realise the value of homecare to reduce risk & lessen the negative impact of dementia progression.

Commissioners across health and care services should recognise the value of homecare as a key option in preventative care and in maintaining wellbeing.

Solution: Homecare workers to be recognised as an integral part of reviews of care needs, informing a wider picture the individual, rather than through just spot checks with the GP.

 

5. Prioritise homecare as a cost effective form of intervention.

Any system-wide approach should recognise the contribution homecare can make to savings in the NHS, by moving more care into the community, keeping people at home for longer, helping them return home from hospital sooner, supporting family carers to keep going or remain in work and promoting the prevention agenda set out in the Care Act.

Solution: Health sector and ADASS should work closely with local homecare providers to recognise additional capacity for people with dementia to be discharged from hospital earlier.

 

6. Ensure sufficient time to deliver the care people with dementia need, in the way they want.

A UKHCA commissioning survey in 2012 found that 73% of homecare visits in England were for 30 minutes or less and there is evidence that commissioned visits have become even shorter. This is clearly completely inappropriate for providing good care to someone who might be confused or anxious.

Solution: Review how services are commissioned, moving away from commissioning ‘time and task’ based services, towards a holistic, more flexible outcomefocused package of care at home that links seamlessly to other services.

 

7. Develop consistent and reliable homecare services and training.

Dementia care requires an important array of skills and knowledge, delivered by a workforce which is sufficient in size and quality. Greater effort is needed to enshrine a focus on dementia in all aspects of training

Solution: Training of the workforce should be publicly funded and supported against clear standards to help retention of staff and consistency of care.

 

8. Help providers to implement & experiment with technology.

Whilst not a solution for everyone, technology can be used in a variety of ways, from enabling people to live as full a life as possible without putting themselves or others at risk to enhancing quality of life through reminiscence and telecommunications, and supporting people to manage and assess health outcomes.

Solution: Pursue the ambitions of the Dementia Friendly Technology Charter (see ‘Further Resources’ section), which explores how technology can assist people living with dementia and their carers are supported.

 

9. Develop research on care, as well as cure

Currently only 10% of funding for research allocated to the four leading causes of death is allocated to dementia. Wider research into care, as well as cure will also help people to continue talking openly about dementia, improve the quality of care and fuel greater understanding and reduce associated stigma.

Solution: Wider research on what works well in homecare, including the potential benefits of using technology to support care at home.
 

Speaking about the report, Fiona Lowry, CEO of The Good Care Group commented: "The Good Care Group are very proud to have formed a part of the working party that created yesterday's published report on homecare for people living with dementia. Dominique Kent, Director of Operations and board member of the UKHCA, represented The Good Care Group alongside other homecare providers, people receiving care and the Alzheimer’s Society, to set out a vision for caring for people at home."

 

Written By:

Daniel James
www.danieljamesbio.com
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