Astell Care Centre

Colleagues from Laurels Lodge Care Home in Woodside, Havencourt Care Home in Stonehaven and Cumbrae Lodge Care Home in Irvine all came together to do a skydive, raising money for residents in their care and Alzheimer's Scotland.

Tracey Rhodes, Resident Experience Facilitator for Scotland, said: "Everyone was really excited for the jump. One of them hadn't even been in a plane, and they completed it, which was a huge accomplishment. They managed to raise £4,000 which is fantastic. Well done everyone."

Congratulations everyone! We’re all proud of you.

A drive to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people living with dementia is taking off after being launched in Jesmond.

Astell Care Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne is among the first to be accredited for a pioneering dementia care approach.

The care team at Astell Care Centre is celebrating being among the first in the UK to be accredited for a new and radically different approach to dementia care.

The Dementia Care Framework is a unique step forward in the personalisation of care for people living with dementia. The care team uses exclusive purpose-designed technology to help build and continuously update a picture of each resident’s individual experience of their care and their physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing, so that their care can be adjusted to their changing needs.

The pioneering home is part of Four Seasons Health Care which spent two years developing and testing the new approach. The home hosted an accreditation party for care commissioners, other health and social care professionals, residents and relatives to introduce the Dementia Care Framework to them on Monday 31^st October 2016 with an apt Halloween theme.

Amanda Cunningham, Managing Director for Four Seasons Health Care North East of England and the South West, said: “This is next generation dementia care to make life better for the person with dementia and we are excited to be among the first homes to offer it. A vital part of the Framework is the bespoke support and training the team throughout the home receives with additional support and training for those, working within our dementia services. This goes beyond the practicalities of caring for someone with dementia and through simulation gives them a deeper understanding of what it is like to live with dementia.”

In addition to the support and training, there are three additional components to the Dementia Care Framework – personal care reviews, Resident and Family Charters.

At the heart of the Dementia Care Framework is a personal care review process which is continuously updated electronically by care staff to give a comprehensive and current picture of each resident. Thought to be the first of its type worldwide, it is based on 320 recognised standards, including NICE Guidelines (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and Alzheimer’s Society best practice guidance. It replaces paper-based audits that are slow and almost always behind the changing care needs of the person.

The resident and family charters were developed in consultation with residents, family members, health and social care professionals and care teams, taking account of over 400 comments. The resident charter sets out their rights, the standards of care they can expect and commitment to provide for their personal needs and preferences. The family charter, sets out the support that they can expect to receive and how they can input to planning their relative’s care.

Only when a home achieves key standards within the Dementia Care Framework does it receive Four Seasons Accreditation for the quality of its dementia care.

To find out more about this fundamentally different approach to dementia care please visit carehomes.fshc.co.uk/dcf or email dementiacare@fshc.co.uk