Dementia care: Is your organisation ready to meet the strengthened Quality Standards?

Valuable, relevant and practical education and training can transform the care experience – both for people with dementia and for your team and organisation.

It gives your team the skills they need. It gives your organisation a competitive advantage that can help you attract and retain talent. And it elevates the level of care staff provide.

With the aged care sector in a state of transformation and strengthened Quality Standards currently in development, it’s never been more important to get your team up to speed on the essentials of dementia care.

Taking a different approach to care

The 2021 Aged Care Royal Commission’s report into the aged care sector presented clear recommendations on the importance of education and training. Enhancing training opportunities to ensure care workers provide high-quality, person-centred care to people with dementia.

Dementia is on the rise, with approximately 68% of aged care residents having moderate to severe cognitive impairment. The report highlighted that care workers who receive training are better equipped to provide higher quality and safer care to meet the growing and complex needs of people living with dementia.

The benefit for your team? Increase in staff confidence and improved workplace wellbeing. For organisations, dedicated training programs translate into more stable work environments with satisfied staff and a better overall experience for residents.

To support aged care organisations to meet the Aged Care Quality Standards, Dementia Australia (RTO code 2512) has recently updated its Dementia Essentials course (CHCAGE011 Provide support to people living with dementia; previously CHCAGE005 Provide support to people living with dementia) to better reflect and cater for the needs and expectations of our industry.

Laying the foundation for quality dementia care

Dementia Essentials gives your team the foundational skills they need to care for and support someone living with dementia. 

The course is highly structured and provides a mix of practical and theoretical learning. Team members receive ongoing support from experienced facilitators as they explore strategies to help with communication, planning, developing activities and understanding changed behaviours in people living with dementia.

By completing the course, your team will gain knowledge in:

• Person-centred care
• The nature of dementia, its progression and the impact it has on the person
• Communicating with a person with dementia
• Identifying unmet needs
• Understanding changed behaviours, developing effective responses and creating supportive environments
• Creating activities to promote wellbeing and meaning
• The role and scope of assistive technology 
• Workplace issues, the impact of community support, and available services.

The nationally recognised course builds capacity in Aged Care Quality Standards 1 to 8, with participants achieving a Statement of Attainment and earning CPD points when they successfully complete the course.

Lifting the standard

Have a team that needs to be brought up to speed with the fundamentals of dementia care? Whether you have one team member or 50, Dementia Essentials is the course for your team. 

When you enrol your employees in Dementia Essentials, you lift the standard of dementia care in your organisation and commit to transforming the experience of the people you care for. 

Available Australia-wide, this course allows you to choose the delivery option that best suits your team – online or face-to-face. Active participation is at the heart of the course, with the face-to-face option giving staff the opportunity to connect with peers and talk first-hand about their experiences. 

As a fully- funded course, there’s no cost to enrol. But the course will pay dividends for your team, your organisation and the people you care for.

Together, we can make a difference to the lives of people with dementia. 

Interested in enrolling your staff in the Dementia Essentials course? Learn more about the course on our website or contact us for more information.