It’s time to start looking after nurses to boost care
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- Article: Durgahee T, Durgahee A (2012) Dementia care: focusing on daily experiences. Nursing Times; 108: 36, 12-14.
Key points
- The number of people living with dementia is steadily rising
- Dementia care should be guided by a model such as Kitwood Plus, making personhood, relationships and daily experiences key priorities
- This model redefines dementia care as “no yesterday, no tomorrow, but today” to make care practice enjoyable and uplifting
- Carers need a toolkit to connect with residents before they offer care and support to make care practice meaningful
- Four key anchors modernise dementia care practice: stability; learning culture; practice reinforcement; and reflective carers
Let’s discuss
Think about a patient you are care for with dementia.
- How has dementia affected their interaction with other people?
- How has it affected their ability to carry out activities of daily living?
The authors of this paper define dementia as “no yesterday, no tomorrow, but today”. How could you use this definition to inform your practice?
Smile, touch, eye contact and positive talk (STEP) are outlined as the basic tools needed to care for people with dementia. How could you incorporate these into a patients care plan?
After reading this article how could you use the Kitwood Plus model in your area to improve the care of people with dementia?
How would you explain the model to a healthcare assistant and help them to connect and interact with people with dementia?
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Readers' comments (2)
Anonymous | 3-Sep-2012 6:29 am
People with dementia needs a caring face. They are not looking for a world class building or technology. They are looking for STEP to be reassured and feel safe. Once the carer STEP up, people living with dementia STEP in to connect with carer and engage in positive interaction. They need a carer who can use STEP to build trust and relationships to enhance daily living experiences.
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nicolette bruce | 11-Sep-2012 11:27 am
Dementia is the progressive deterioration in cognitive function - the ability to process thought or intelligence. Millions of elderly people are still driving and some of them have some kind of dementia, such as Alzheimer's. How to proceed about individuals driving with dementia is still a subject of some discussion.
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