Two key resources have been developed to support delivery of the improvement programme. These resources can be used by any hospital or care home team:
- who support people living with dementia
- are interested in improving their service
Reducing stress and distress self-evaluation tool
This tool sets out what is expected from high quality, person-centred care for people living with dementia and their carers to reduce stress and distress. This tool can be used by teams in:
- specialist dementia units
- acute and community hospitals
- care homes
This self-evaluation tool can be used by teams to self-assess their service against a set of quality criteria. Teams are then able to identify priority areas for improvement. This can be completed as a service development activity. It should involve all key professions involved in the delivery of care, including:
- nurses
- allied health professionals
- care home support staff
- managers
- doctors
We recommend you involve people with dementia and careers in the self-evaluation process.
The tool has been prototyped by a small number of teams. It is being used to support delivery of our improvement programme. It will continue to be reviewed and updated based on feedback. The guidance document includes instruction on how to complete the tool. Each of the six quality criteria have been broken down into sub-criteria. For each sub-criteria teams should provide:
- scoring of current practice
- supporting evidence
- Initial improvement ideas
Suggested evidence for each sub criteria have been included in the guidance. This can be used to complete the evidence column. The final section of the tool is an improvement plan. The plan will identify the top three priorities a service wants to improve.
The tool can either be printed or completed using a computer or tablet. For teams completing the tool using a computer or tablet, an editable PDF has been created to improve useability.
- Reducing stress and distress self evaluation tool: print version
- Reducing stress and distress self evaluation tool: editable version
Reducing stress and distress change package
The reducing stress and distress change package is designed to support teams to improve the experience and outcomes of peoples living with dementia. it focuses on the implementation of person-centred approaches to prevent and support stress and distress. This change package can be used by teams in:
- specialist dementia units
- acute and community hospitals
- care homes
This is a practical tool that can support teams during the planning of improvement activity. It can help teams to:
- understand what part of their service needs to change
- identify improvements ideas for testing
- capture data to evidence their impact
We recommend that the self-evaluation tool is completed before using the change package.
The change package is a working document. It is still undergoing testing as part of the reducing stress and distress improvement programme. It includes:
- a driver diagram
- example change ideas
- suggested measures for data collection
- links to supporting evidence and resources
You can find the current change package on our website.