A free to access dementia consultancy service funded by government agency Innovate UK has been made available to every care home in England.
The Dementia Support UK: Connect, Consult service provided by HammondCare provides care home managers and their staff with access to a trained consultant at no cost to provide personal, non-pharmacological support through video conferencing and telephone consultation.
HammondCare said the service addresses an urgent need to help people living with dementia in care homes, their carers and families amid the coronavirus crisis.
“The aim of the service is to help staff, solve problems and give them confidence. We know that the care sector has been severely impacted by Covid-19, carers feel isolated and routines and support networks have been interrupted,” added HammondCare dementia centre director Associate Professor Colm Cunningham.
“Our consultants will be able to offer advice and support and share their extensive knowledge of dementia-related behaviours. We know, from working with this model of care, that if people living with dementia and care partners are supported in times of disruption, we can reduce the need for more costly health resources such as hospital care.”
Representative body National Care Forum backed the Dementia Support UK: Connect, Consult service.
“Dementia care is a highly specialist area of care and ensuring the consistent delivery of person-centred care within a global pandemic is paramount,” said executive director Vic Rayner.
“Therefore, it is very helpful at this time, that this new service provided by HammondCare and funded by Innovate UK will allow care homes free access to expertise from specialist colleagues to support the continued delivery of high quality care across the country,” she added.
Care homes can access Dementia Support UK: Connect, Consult in the first instance by visiting www.dementiasupportuk.org.
