Unit5.1

of dementia took
hold of their memories and personality. How could the
care of any person be anything other than individual,
specific to their needs, involving and respecting their
views on how they want their care to be delivered?
Person-centred care is a way of providing care with the
person at the centre of everything you do. Another way
of describing it is individualised care – care that is given
to the person according to their needs, wishes, beliefs
and preferences. One would hope that gone are the
days when everyone in a care home got up at the same
time, ate their breakfast at the same time, got washed
and dressed at the same time, even going to the toilet
at the same time. These regimented routines of care
homes were devised for the benefits of the staff, not the
people being supported. The day revolved around tasks,
duties that had to be met, more often than not putting
the people’s specific needs at the end of the priority list.
If you needed support, which type of care home would
you choose?
Earlier on in this unit we looked at how dementia can
affect people and identified that no two people would
necessarily follow the same process through the
condition of dementia. This being the case should
automatically exclude all people with dementia being
treated in the same way.
Studies have shown that a person-centred approach can
help reduce agitation in the person with dementia.
Agitation is often caused by the person’s frustration in
not being able to express themselves. The expression
could be one of sadness, pain, thirst, hunger or
tiredness. Other studies on a person-centred approach
have shown that the person often remains living in their
own home for longer. A person-centred approach can
also ensure that the person does not endure the
degrading, discriminatory and abusive practices which
could otherwise occur. People and all those involved in
their care should feel safe, feeling that they are a part
of what is going...