4-12 Weeks
This course provides an excellent grounding for people working in any setting, and in contact with dementia.
The Dementia Award is part of a nationally recognised career pathway and can be used towards a Certificate or a Diploma in Dementia. It provides foundation training in core skills required to work progressively with individuals who have dementia. This qualification will automatically progress to a Diploma in Health and Social Care (dementia pathway) or an Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care (dementia pathway) where appropriate. Therefore it provides excellent opportunities for career progression. Individuals will also have the opportunity to progress on to other pathways in the health and social care field.
Who is this course suitable for?
This course is suitable for anyone with an interest in dementia. As an award it is knowledge based and does not require direct observation in the work place. This means that it is suitable for people in a range of roles including, people working at GP practices, individuals working at advice centres as well as direct, hands on roles such as home care staff, hospital staff or residential settings.
Why should I sign up all new staff on the Dementia Award?
When recruiting new staff employers are often hesitant to invest in their training. Most employers opt to wait and see how people perform before investing time in training. This is largely due to the transient nature of the industry; poor retention continues to be a significant problem in the health and social care sector. In addition offering a diploma or apprenticeship course straight away can be daunting for individuals and for some seem too much, too soon. The award in dementia offers a bite size qualification which aims to change attitudes, making people more interested in their work and providing them with real techniques they can use to make their role more enjoyable; thereby increasing staff retention.
Why is this good for business?
Good staff retention will enable a business to grow incrementally, continually building new skills. Additionally current practice within an organisation may be outdated; however, this award provides the opportunity to bring best practice Some of the examples below demonstrate how the award can provide employers with a real return on their investment by keeping service users at an optimum level of functioning for longer; ultimately improving bed occupancy rates. This type of training also reduces the need for ‘fire fighting’ costs when things go wrong, for example time taken to deal with complaints. Additionally it can reduce the number of safeguarding investigations which can be costly, impacting on long term brand value.
In addition the award is fast becoming the gold standard, recognised nationally and supported by Care Quality Commission. This qualification is essential for organisations wishing to achieve a dementia accreditation or to update skills to reflect current practices.
Key Skills Demonstrated Immediately Following Training
Faster identification of associated conditions causing symptom challenges – such as depression, problems with the environment or delirium – leading to prompt treatment and enhanced quality of life
Improved symptoms recordings – leading to early identification of dementia and timely treatment
Better use of care plans / support plans – better use of life stories to enhance relationship building and drive person centred approaches leading to better outcomes for the individual and consistent practice within the organisation
More targeted intervention – by understanding how to apply social model of care – by increasing the quality of the intervention with the person with dementia, by using limited time to good effect – a more targeted intervention which build self esteem and improves longevity
Better connection with the individuals with dementia – by using a range of communication techniques to really connect with people- by understanding how to observe behaviours – leading to less challenging behaviour
Delivery Model
This award can be delivered flexibly to suit your working practices. These include face to face delivery, workbooks, assessor meetings and E portfolio. Each candidate will have a dedicated assessor to meet individually with them and support them through the qualification. The following open taught sessions are available
Dementia Awareness – This includes the types of dementia, how symptoms present, stigma and associated consequences, differential diagnosis and the importance of early diagnosis.
Person Centred Care – This includes the definition of what person centred care is (both techniques and value base), it also looks at the role of the family and other professionals in providing holistic care
Communication Skills – This includes how communication impacts on the person with dementia and considers the range of other barriers. It also includes common communication strategies used in the care of people with dementia such as ‘reality orientation and validation’.
Equality and Diversity – This includes how to understand the uniqueness of the individual and provides specific frameworks for understanding Equality and Diversity. The course also covers the needs of different groups or people with dementia, younger people, older people and individuals who have a learning disability.
Our account managers will work individually with organisations to build a package that is right for your organisation as well as for the staff member. E portfolio and paper based options are available. Candidates will be required to work through the tasks set for each unit and complete the assessed part of the workbook.
The award consists of the following four units:
DEM 201 – Dementia Awareness
DEM 202 – Person centred approaches to the care and support of Individuals with dementia
DEM 205 – Understand the factors which can influence communication and interaction with individuals who have dementia
DEM 207 – Understand Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Dementia Care
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