Promoting Excellence in supporting people through a diagnosis of dementia: enhanced practice resource

• Introducing a personal outcomes focused approach
  This module introduces personal outcomes focused approaches to working alongside people to support their health, wellbeing and quality of life and will enable you to refresh or develop your knowledge in this area.
• Before diagnosis
  Explore some of the reasons for people being reluctant to approach services in this module, considering the assessment process, how a diagnosis is reached and how you can support the person to have a more positive experience through your own attitudes, behaviour and actions.
• Receiving a diagnosis
  Receiving a diagnosis of dementia can be devastating for the person, family and friends, but the outcomes-focused approach taken in preparing the person and family in advance of receiving a diagnosis can positively influence their response and adjustment to on going changes. This module explores how you can effectively communicate a diagnosis of dementia to the person and family and guide them towards a more positive outcome.
• Living well with dementia
  This final module explores the impact of receiving a diagnosis on people's social and emotional well-being. It considers how an outcomes-focused approach can enable people to continue to live well with dementia, support them to stay connected with their communities and plan for the future.

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Enhanced dementia practice for social workers and other professionals
SSSC Online resource

• Personal outcomes - valued relationships and community connections
  [Excerpt] Maintaining normal patterns of life for as long as possible is so important for people with dementia for many reasons. People with dementia can often find themselves withdrawing from aspects of their life that have sustained them. In Living the Life, Henry and Peter talk of important relationships and activities. It was important for them, and is important for others, to identify the aspects of life which contribute most to a sense of wellbeing.

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Focus on dementia

Focus on Dementia is a partnership programme with the Joint Improvement Team, Alzheimer Scotland, the Scottish Government Mental Health Division and QuEST. This website directs you to the work of the programme, including the 2014 pilot site testing of the 8 pillar model of community support for people with dementia, their families and carers.

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Equal Partners in Care (EPiC)

Equal Partners in Care (EPiC) is a joint project between SSSC and NES to implement the workforce education elements of the Carers Strategy 2010-15. It supports workers from social services, health and other sectors to work in partnership with carers. It does this by providing a wide range of learning resources to help best practice become universal practice. This should be your 'one stop shop' to develop your practice with carers and links directly to other resources which will be of interest.

• Core Principles
• EPiC Key Learning Resources

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Caring Together: The Carers Strategy for Scotland 2010-2015
Scottish Government (2010)

Caring Together sets out 10 key actions to improve support to carers over the next five years. The focus is on improved identification of carers, assessment, information and advice, health and well-being, carer support, participation and partnership.

In particular, Sections 4, Prioritising Support to Carers, Section 6 Carers Rights, Section 7 Carers Assessments, Section 12, Carer Health and Wellbeing, will support achievement of this section's Learning Outcomes.

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Institute of Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS): Leading for outcomes: dementia 2011

Exploring an outcomes-focused approach within the context of dementia. The whole of this resource will inform your practice, although for this section on "Personal Outcomes" you might want to pay particular attention to:

• Part two focuses on outcomes and the challenges of working in an outcomes focussed way in the context of dementia
• Part four focuses on outcomes conversations with people with dementia, and with carers.

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Talking Points - A Personal Outcomes Approach (2012)
Joint Improvement Team

The Joint Improvement Team (JIT) website hosts a range of learning materials, tools and templates to support you to practice in an outcomes focussed way with families in the context of their communities. This includes guidance on assessing, recording and care planning in the context of a focus on outcomes.

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Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services podcasts

IRISS Podcasts are published audio recordings which are of benefit to the social services sector, in Scotland and abroad. Listen to the following recordings for an example of the rich information you can access here. (For new audio recordings from IRISS contributors, visit IRISS FM)

• Self-directed support and dementia in Scotland Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland, on 'moving forward together' (recording from self-directed support event, 2011)
• Culture change and self-directed support: A clear vision Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland, on 'Exploring culture change: Approaches and challenges' (recording, January 2013)
• Personalisation-What is it? - Short talk on personalisation, 2011.
• Alzheimer Scotland-Self Directed Support and Dementia in Scotland - Personal experiences of self directed support from Ayrshire pilot study (recording from self-directed support event, 2011)

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Self Directed Support in Scotland

This is a Scottish Government website and provides a one-stop-shop for information about Self-Directed Support (SDS) for health and social services professionals, and for people who use services.

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SDS National Guides

This website hosts the national SDS guides for people using services, health and social service practitioners, and carers.

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Self Directed Support Scotland (SDSS)

Do you need to understand more about Personalisation and how it fits with self directed support? Take a look at the SDSS website. SDSS is a national membership organisation which actively promotes Independent Living by supporting, working with and championing the aims of Self Directed Support disabled people's organisations.

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Delivering Integrated Dementia Care: The 8 Pillars Model of Community Support
Kinnaird, L. for Alzheimer Scotland (2012)

This report by Alzheimer Scotland sets out an integrated and comprehensive, evidence based approach to supporting people with dementia living at home.

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Personalisation and Participation: The Future of Social Care in Scotland (2005)

This report was commissioned as part of the 21 Century review of social work and provides an in depth exploration of personalisation. It describes service user journeys and brings the concept to life.