Dementia awareness -This session addresses learning outcomes in subject 1 of the Dementia Training Standards Framework nd is designed to support the Dementia Action Alliance Dementia Statements. In this session, we will describe what dementia is, how common it is and what it is like to live with its common symptoms, both for the person and their family. We will describe the signs that can be mistaken for dementia and what we can do to reduce our risk of getting dementia. We will describe how we can help people affected by dementia to live as well as possible. (40 minutes)

This module describes how the health and social care workforce can enable people to live well with dementia, covering a range of topics across a range of settings, in the context of diverse communities and current legislation. It contains 13 e-learning sessions.

Person-centred Dementia Care

This session will help you to understand that person-centred dementia care involves:respecting the human rights of all people living with dementia, including their rights to dignity, liberty, privacy and to be treated in a humane way;engaging with the person as a unique individual taking into account their life experience, unique abilities, interests, culture, likes, dislikes and needs; taking the person’s perspective and seeing the world through their eyes; ensure people living with dementia and their family carers are equal partners in decisions about their care; providing a supportive and enabling physical and social environment which includes a role for family carers in meeting a person’s physical and psychosocial needs as the disease progresses (30 minutes)

Dementia identification, assessment and diagnosis

This session explores the identification, assessment and diagnosis of dementia and the benefits of an early diagnosis. Later, it will investigate what the assessment process entails and how it is experienced by people with dementia, stressing why it is important to ensure sensitive, person-centred assessment and appropriate and timely post-diagnostic support. (35 minutes)

Dementia risk reduction and prevention

This session looks at how behaviour in adult life may link with risks of developing certain types of dementia and how lifestyle change may delay onset or slow progression. It examines what factors affect people’s ability to make lifestyle changes, how to convey key messages and how to signpost people to support for making changes. (30 minutes)

Communication, interaction and behaviour in dementia care

This session will introduce ways to facilitate effective communication with people living with dementia. It will help you to understand the communicative impairments as well as the retained abilities that individuals with dementia may experience and the variety of ways people with dementia may communicate their needs and preferences. (30 minutes)

Health and wellbeing in dementia

This session explores how to ensure optimal physical health and emotional wellbeing for people living with dementia. It will look at ways to prevent, and ensure early detection of, pain, falls, fatigue, dehydration and hunger. It describes ways to support the person to maintain personal hygiene and appearance. In promoting emotional wellbeing, it focuses on understanding behaviour as an expression of unmet need and the limited role for medication in helping someone who feels distressed. (30 minutes)

Pharmacological interventions in dementia care

This session will investigate the most common medications prescribed for people living with dementia, including their risks and benefits and the importance of regular recorded reviews. (40 minutes)

Living well with dementia and promoting independence

This session will help you to understand how to support and promote a person’s independence and meaningful involvement in their own daily life. (30 minutes)

Families and carers as partners in dementia care

This session will explore the roles, needs, rights and experiences of family members caring for a relative living with dementia. It will describe ways to support and work in partnership with family carers. (35 minutes)

Equality, diversity and inclusion in dementia care

This session will investigate how factors such as stigma, age, gender and ethnicity affect the experience of living with or caring for people with dementia. Later, it will offer guidance on how to adapt your practice to address discrimination and tailor care and services to meet the diverse needs of people affected by dementia. (40 minutes)

Law, ethics and safeguarding in dementia care

This session provides an overview of your duty of care to ensure safe practice. It describes the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act which include that you are to always act in the best interests of people living with dementia who may lack capacity to make a particular decision. It discusses the requirement that you can recognise and act on neglect, abuse or exploitation in your or your colleagues’ practice with reference to safeguarding procedures. (40 minutes)

Research and evidence-based practice in dementia care

This session looks at conducting service evaluation and research in the workplace and how people affected by dementia may be involved in service evaluation and research. (30 minutes)

Leadership in transforming dementia care

This session will introduce you to the key policy drivers and evidence base that inform high quality, compassionate, person-centred care practices. It will help you to understand how you can use leadership skills to work collaboratively with your colleagues to implement evidence-based practice and maintain a high level of care quality. (30 minutes)