Re-booting Dementia Care DEMENTIA CARE

Orchard Care Homes has long been an advocate of quality innovative Dementia Care Lately it has set the bar even higher with the introduction of its group-wide Dementia Promise This sets out to provide equitable care for those living with the condition and level-up training for all staff – using evidencebased practices Hayden Knight CEO of Orchard Care Homes discusses the importance of pioneering change for those living with Dementia

The issue of dementia provision across the care sector has never been more prominent The number of those living with dementia in the UK is growing Sadly more people are arriving at our care homes with acute levels of dementia and increasingly complex needs – many having been referred from social settings who are unable to support them As a result of this trend and concerns from families seeking support for loved ones we have made it our mission to help and guide by setting the wheels in motion for genuine change to dementia support

Our Reconnect communities don t cater to mass needs – instead our activities and care plans are finely tuned to the personal requirements and interests of each person We believe in equitable care for all and those with Dementia should be no different By putting an element of positive risk in place we can fully support people with hobbies and tasks that keep them meaningfully occupied – be it gardening assisting with small tasks in the kitchen like washing up or visiting the local pub for lunch

Our Dementia Promise is not a token gesture – but a group-wide commitment to change With a background as a specialist having previously worked in expert Mental Health Provision my ethos for the group is to widen our offering to become the very best in our sector

Generally, the care sector is making a shift towards training staff in dementia support needs, but there is still a gap Orchard s strong team and capabilities aim to fill that We are currently implementing a ‘Step Up to Dementia Support Worker’ programme, which follows the success of our ‘Step Up to Seniors’ model With a shortage of carers coming to the sector with the required abilities needed, we have devised an intensive training model which will see a greater number of recruitment prospects for us and opportunities for our existing team to develop their chosen careers

For several years now we have recognised these growing needs

Over 55% of those arriving at an Orchard Care Home have some level of dementia support need – and this figure is on the rise Whilst we will always cater to the regional demographic of our homes we can t ignore these statistics Earlier this year our Dementia Promise was launched with both specialism and understanding in mind The initiative doesn’t merely pay lip service to progressing our dementia care offering It’s a huge investment for the group with over £500 000 spent annually on dedicated training programs and mentoring of our staff benefitting everyone from domestics to the CEO

We are also committed to investing in our clinical support team Again with a shortage of workers in this field coming to care we want to be able to offer the very best chances and to develop quality staff across our group By rewarding them for their skills and dedication both with an uplift in pay and options to advance their careers with Orchard we are hoping to further strengthen our support across the group For example we have just brought in two care and clinical practitioners to deliver face-to-face clinical training to up-skill staff and provide supervision and support with revalidation

When people arrive at care homes with complex needs it can be a very daunting experience

To address this and to provide a solution for local authorities and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) who have limited quality provisions to support people with higher levels of acuity, we have introduced specialist Reconnect Communities We now have five Reconnects amongst our 23-strong group, with more planned later this year With an expert care team, offering individualised support, we can be truly people focused

To further invest in our staff and create career progression models we have introduced a new Student Nurse Strategy Allowing new nurses to the sector to learn from our experienced staff will bring a huge benefit to our homes by allowing clinical placements to be fulfilled which will strengthen our team and the level of care available Student nurses working in conjunction with their university will gain valuable mentoring from our homelevel nurses who will also provide sign-off for coursework The outcomes of these partnerships will not only develop new nurses in the sector, but it’s hoped that they will encourage newly qualified nurses to join the Orchard team long-term

Continuing to challenge ourselves and others will only build on the momentum of our Dementia Promise

After a positive response from families and healthcare professionals, we feel confident that our work will make a significant impact both for our group and eventually the wider sector