Page 74 - Staff Handbook 2024

Dementia Support
Dementia describes a collection
of symptoms that are caused
by disorders affecting the brain.
Nearly 280,000 Australians live with
dementia. One of the most common is
Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia is mostly experienced by
older people (it’s the greatest cause of
disability in people aged over 65), but
can also affect people in their 30s, 40s
and 50s (source: Dementia Australia).
Dementia symptoms can range from
simple short-term memory loss, such
as forgetting the names of things
or where you’ve put something, to
more serious symptoms such as loss
of rationality, social skills and physical
function.
Just Better Care Dementia
Support Includes:
•
Companionship and leisure activities
•
Showering, dressing and grooming
•
Prompting to take medication
•
Shopping, errands
•
Preparing meals
•
Respite for carers.
Dementia will affect an individual
in different ways and may affect
thinking, behaviour and the ability to
perform everyday tasks. Brain function
may be impaired to a degree that
interferes with a person’s normal
social or working life. wDementia
can influence a person’s behaviour
including wandering, depression,
anxious or agitated states, aggression,
hallucinations and false ideas, and loss
of inhibition.
74 Communication
Customers with dementia may
have difficulties communicating.
This may include problems in
finding a word, speaking fluently,
understanding, writing, reading or
expressing emotions. They may also
disregard normal social conventions
of conversation and may ignore what
you’re saying or interrupt you.
Consider the following:
•
Stay calm and allow time for the
customer to understand and
respond to you
•
Remember, feelings and emotions
remain even though a customer
may not always understand what
you’re saying.
•
Use short, simple sentences and
help orientate a customer by
describing what you’re about to
do, who is about to visit and their
relationship with this person
•
Do not argue, be condescending,
order the customer around, ask
questions that rely on a good
memory or talk about them in the
presence of other people
•
Avoid talking in a noisy environment.
Nutrition Needs
A customer with dementia may forget
to eat and as a result, you may need to
carefully monitor their food and fluid
intake.
Consider the following:
•
Offer snacks and meals regularly,
perhaps trying 5–6 small meals
a day
•
Offer drinks regularly. This is
particularly important in hot
weather
Just Better © Care Staff Handbook