Good design can reduce agitation in residents

You may have seen a recent report stating that a ‘chemical cosh’ of powerful drugs is still being used in people living with dementia despite the Government’s 2009 National Dementia Strategy calling for a review of the use of antipsychotics in light of their side effects. 

The study from five universities found no overall reduction in the drugs being prescribed in UK care homes between 2009 and 2012. In the latest study led by Coventry University and published in the journal BMJ Open, prescribing data from more than 600 care homes found no significant decline in antipsychotic prescribing rates over the period. Jeremy Hunt said in 2014 that the “attitude towards dementia must and will change,” but what changes are needed to promote new attitudes? 

Statistically, about 90 per cent of people with dementia are said to experience symptoms that affect their behaviour, which can present as aggression and agitation. Symptoms can develop as part of their condition, but may also be caused by other factors, such as pain, discomfort or unmet need, which can often be managed quite easily. In fact, a study several years ago stated that 90 per cent of ‘challenging behaviours’ displayed by people living with dementia are actually caused by people and their environment. The right dementia care environment can reduce falls by 70 per cent, aggression and agitation by 60 per cent and incontinence by 50 per cent.