Care UK is marking Dementia Action Week (13 – 19 May) by celebrating innovative practice used by its teams to support residents, their loved ones, and local communities.

Created by the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia Action Week is centred around raising awareness of dementia, and encouraging those living with the condition to receive the support they need.

A selection of Care UK homes are currently undertaking the internal Care Fit for VIPs accreditation. This follows the Care Fit for VIPs model, created by Emeritus Professor Dawn Brooker at the Association of Dementia Studies (ADS) at the University of Worcester. Care Fit for VIPs is embedded within the National Institute for Health and Care Excelelnce (NICE) guidelines for person-centred care. 

Suzanne Mumford, Care UK’s head of nursing, care and dementia, said: “The Care Fit for VIPs framework has been transformational for the homes who have completed it and received their internal Care UK accreditation. We will continue to enrol homes onto this programme, so that we know, without a doubt, we are delivering the gold-standard of person-centred dementia care across our homes.”

The Care Fit for VIPs approach centres around four key aspects: valuing those living with dementia, treating everyone as an individual, showing empathy towards those living with the condition, and recognising the need for a stimulating social environment.

“By refocusing on supporting residents through activities, creativity and exercise, we have been able to reduce Care UK’s use of antipsychotic drugs for those living with dementia,” said Mumford. “Where residents do not have an accompanying psychotic illness, these additional methods of support have enabled us to safely decrease prescriptions of antipsychotics by 15 percentage points in the past year.”

The first Care UK home to be awarded the internal accreditation was Field Lodge in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Home manager Linda Martinez said: “We ensure residents of Field Lodge are as independent as possible – they do everything from collecting newspapers to helping in the kitchen. Our job is to support them to continue to live their life in the most meaningful way possible whilst providing outstanding source of care.”

Nine more homes have followed in Field Lodge’s footsteps, most recently, Weald Heights in Sevenoaks, Echelforde in Ashford and Whitebourne in Frimley. A further four homes are also due to be internally inspected later this year.