Webinar showcases new strategies in caring for people with dementia

Anglicare Southern Queensland is hosting a free webinar on August 28 to showcase new approaches and strategies in caring for people living with dementia.

Speakers Associate Professor Margaret MacAndrew, Queensland University of Technology, and Vicki Cain, Clinical Lead for Anglicare’s Specialist Dementia Care Program, headline the webinar. 

Assoc Prof MacAndrew, a Registered Nurse and the Director of Dementia Training Training Australia in Queensland, will highlight findings from the 3Ps to Getting Home Safely with Dementia project.

People living with dementia are at greater risk of becoming lost and experiencing devastating outcomes as a result. The ‘3Ps’ (Prevent, Prepare and Prompt Response) to Getting Home Safely with Dementia is a three-phase project that aims to ensure people with dementia who go missing are found alive.

Statistics from Dementia Australia reveal that roughly 20% of police land searches involve a person with dementia, and one third of these include someone from a residential aged care home. Sadly, 15% were not found alive.

Inappropriate safety measures and delaying the search increases the risk of not finding missing people with dementia alive and uninjured.

This presentation highlights findings from Phase 2 of this research which builds upon the research team’s previous work and will develop, implement and evaluate a set of resources to support residential aged care communities to successfully adopt the ‘3Ps’ to getting home safely with dementia.

The findings will inform further refinement of resources and study design prior to Phase 3, where a trial testing the efficacy of the 3Ps approach to reduce the number of people with dementia getting lost and increase the chances of finding them alive and uninjured, will be conducted.

Ms Cain, meanwhile, will share key learnings from the delivery of Anglicare Southern Queensland’s Specialist Dementia Care Program. 

The Commonwealth-funded Specialist Dementia Care Program provides a high level of tailored care for people living with dementia who are exhibiting severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, and are unable to be effectively cared for by mainstream aged care services.

This presentation draws on Anglicare’s experience delivering the SDCP, and our ongoing learnings about how best to:

• reduce or stabilise a person’s behaviour and psychological symptoms of dementia in a dedicated dementia-friendly environment
• support the person to move to a less intensive care setting when they no longer need the specialist services provided by SDCP unit
• support aged care providers with the transition of SDCP residents back into mainstream services

Anglicare’s SDCP has been in operation for four years and is located at St Martin’s Aged Care Home in Brisbane. It is one of two operating SDCPs in Queensland with four more anticipated to open over the next 12 months. Three of these sites will also be managed by Anglicare Southern Queensland. 

The webinar is hosted by Anglicare’s Research, Evaluation and Advocacy team. For more information and to register, please click here.