Making a Difference in Dementia

1 Making a Difference in Dementia Nursing Vision and Strategy Refreshed editionTitle: Making a Difference in Dementia : Nursing vision and strategy refreshed editionAuthor: Nursing, Midwifery & Allied Health Professions Policy Unit, Quality Division, Strategy and External Relations Directorate 32400 Document Purpose: PolicyPublication date: September 2016 To be reviewed in 2 yearsTarget audience: Registered nurses; Directors of Nursing; Staff working in health and social care services; Chairs and members of local safeguarding adult boards; Lecturers and those who deliver professional training.

2 Contact details: Dr Ben Thomas Mental Health, Learning Disability and Dementia Care Professional Officer Nursing, Midwifery & Allied Health Professions Policy Unit Strategy and External Relations Directorate Department of Health, 79 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2NS Email: may re-use the text of this document (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit Crown copyright Published to , in PDF format only. 3 ContentsIntroduction 5 Part one: Refreshing our vision 6 Dementia facts 6 The 2010 Dementia Challenge 6 Compassionate practice 7 Part two.

3 The role of the nurse in Dementia 9 The nurse s role 9A new vision for the nurse s role in Dementia 10 Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework 11 Research 12 Nurse s role within all phases of Dementia 12 Part three: Guidance and resources 16 Guidance documents 16 Resources 184 Making a Difference in Dementia : Nursing Vision and Strategy RefreshedIntroduction 5 IntroductionThe Making a Difference in Dementia .

4 Nursing Vision and Strategy, published in March 2013, set out our vision of how nurses could maximise their unique contribution to high-quality, compassionate care and support for people with Dementia and their carers/families. In the past three years a great deal has been achieved, including the following: There has been a continued increase in Dementia awareness, with more than 515,967 NHS staff at the end of March 2015 completing Tier 1 training to better support people with Dementia . Tier 1 training continues to be rolled out, with a view to reaching all NHS staff by the end of 2018.

5 The publication of the Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework in October 2015 will help us to achieve this goal, by assuring the quality and consistency of Dementia training for all health and care staff. More than one million people have become Dementia Friends across England. The Alzheimer s Society s Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative aimed at changing people s perceptions of Dementia , transforming the way we all think, act and talk about Dementia , to help improve awareness and understanding.

6 Dementia Friends are helping to create communities in which people living with Dementia feel more understood and included. The 2020 Dementia Challenge, published in February 2015, builds on the achievements of the previous 2012 15 Challenge. It identifies what needs to be done by the NHS, social care, voluntary, community sectors and society at large, to make sure that Dementia care, support , awareness and research are transformed by 2020. The 2020 challenge focuses on risk reduction, health and care, continuing investment in research and expansion of Dementia -friendly communities.

7 The Implementation Plan published in March 2016, sets out priority actions to ensure that the commitments set out in the 2020 Dementia Challenge are spirit and values set out in Making a Difference in Dementia : Nursing Vision and Strategy remain as relevant today as three years ago. We want to build on these, while appreciating that emerging challenges require a fresh approach. This refreshed edition of Making a Difference in Dementia : Nursing Vision and Strategy reinforces the fundamental role nurses play in providing health promotion, care and support to people so they can live well with Dementia .

8 It aims to support all nurses, irrelevant of registration or specialty, to be responsive to the needs of people with Dementia , continue to develop their skills and expertise, and improve the contribution they make in achieving best outcomes for people with Dementia , their carers and families, and Making a Difference in Dementia : Nursing Vision and Strategy RefreshedPart one: Refreshing our visionDementia facts Dementia is not an inevitable part of ageing. However, as our population ages, the number of people living with Dementia is set to increase.

9 There are around 676,000 people with Dementia in England, and this number is expected to double in the next 30 years. Dementia mainly affects older people, though it can start before the age of with a learning disability are at a much higher risk than the general population. For example, people with Down s syndrome aged 50-59 have a one in three chance of having is progressive. Initial symptoms include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. The most common types are Alzheimer s disease, vascular Dementia , frontotemporal Dementia and Dementia with Lewy bodies.

10 Timely diagnosis along with support and treatment are helping more people with Dementia stay active and independent; and younger people to stay in work for affects people differently and the level of support required will vary. It is important to recognise that no two people with Dementia or their carers are the same, and individuals will have unique and differing are around 540,000 carers of people with Dementia in England. Half of them are employed and it is estimated that 66,000 people have already cut their working hours to make time for caring, while 50,000 people have left work all 2020 Dementia ChallengeThe 2020 Dementia Challenge aims to transform Dementia care, support and research.