Not For Profit Victorian aged care provider VMCH has developed Australia's first guide to support people living with dementia at home, and to support their carers.
The guide has been developed with Not For Profit dementia care provider Caladenia Dementia Care and My Dementia Companion, which has developed a world-first online dementia tool for those caring for people living with dementia.
“We know that 70% of people diagnosed with dementia live in the community and receive regular community care,” says VMCH Dementia Services Specialist Elizabeth Baxter.
VMCH
Dementia Services Specialist
While there are many resources on dementia available, there are no consolidated practice guidelines.
“Clinical Guidelines are available to clinicians, however, there are no guidelines for staff working in the community sector for people post diagnosis," said Elizabeth.
"There is also a workforce shortage in community care and less experience in providing dementia-specific support.”
The guide has been in the works for around nine months and will be launched at the International Dementia Conference in Sydney this week.
VMCH plans to approach NARI (National Ageing Research Institute) about researching how and where the guide can be best used in practice, and then to evaluate its efficacy. If a trial of the guide is successful, it may be used in allied health, residential aged care, and disability settings where the person has younger onset dementia.