Entitled What can I expect from good quality services if I have dementia?, a new guide, written by the Improving Quality of Care group, is for people with dementia and their carers, and aims to define what good quality services should look like.
The aims of the network are to provide leadership and advice to shape London’s dementia services so that people with dementia can receive an effective diagnosis, have access to high-quality treatment and are cared for with dignity and respect. The group hopes that this guide will contribute to improving care for people with dementia and their carers.
The areas covered in the guidance apply to all of the different types of health and social care services that a person with dementia might need to access, not only specialist dementia services. Not all areas listed will be relevant in all cases, so people should pick and choose what’s most useful for them. Topics include advice on training, person-centred care, support for family carers, nutrition, medications, managing pain, communication and environment.
The chair of the Improving Quality of Care group, Dr Amanda Thompsell, an old-age psychiatrist at South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am so grateful for the input from people with dementia and their carers into the development of this guidance. I hope it will help to eliminate that phrase that I hear too often from carers – ‘If only I had known that…’”
The group would like to thank the Alzheimer’s Society and Innovations in Dementia for their comments on the guidance. We hope this short guide will be useful for people with dementia and carers and we welcome feedback as we are committed to continually improving our work. As well as this guide, the network has also produced guidance on training for health and social care staff, pain management, use of a delirium policy, use of a recognition system, a checklist for health and social care commissioners and guidance on immediate post-diagnosis support. All of these documents are available on the network’s website.
