HC-One Scotland has opened its first Specialist Dementia Care Community (SDCC) in Scotland at its
Darnley Court Care Home in Glasgow. The team held a launch event on July 17, welcoming representatives and partners from the local health and care system to tour and learn more about this innovative new service offering.
Innovative approaches to dementia care
The SDCC model brings a new therapeutic approach to
dementia care. HC-One has developed its SDCC proposition to enhance the way it supports people who display distressed behaviour.
Previously these people may have been prescribed anti-psychotic medication and might currently be inappropriately placed or needing one-to-one support to manage their behaviour. The SDCC model adopts ground-breaking methods of care, including employing Assistant Psychologists as part of the core care team for each resident who analyse behaviour to understand the reasons for a person’s distress.
This unique approach ensures that every resident’s care plan is clinically evidence-based. The team also includes Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioners who engage with the residents and help enable them to partake in their favourite pastimes - be that watching football or listening to music.
Specialised physical design
The Specialist Dementia Care Community is also physically designed to support people with severe dementia. Features include lower occupancy, enhanced lighting, a custom-designed living environment with a low arousal interior design, and dedicated therapy rooms.
Advanced learning and development
Colleagues in the SDCC enhance their skills through bespoke and advanced learning & development. The SDCC also benefits from pre-admission assessment tools, regular re-assessment, and ongoing wrap-around clinical support and advice from the Dementia Care Team.
Proven success in England
HC-One’s
very first SDCC launched in England in 2022, in its
Meadow Bank Care Home in Lancashire. Meadow Bank’s
recent data highlighted:
● A 90% decrease in distress-related incidents
● 60% of residents showing improvement in ‘Primary Behaviours of Concern’
● 88% of residents improved their ‘Total Complexity of Need Profile’
Increasing demand for dementia care in Scotland
It is estimated that between 2019 – 2040 there will be a 104% increase in the number of people living with severe dementia in Scotland. Consequently, care homes will need to introduce new ways of supporting those experiencing distress as a result of their dementia.
The Carmichael Specialist Dementia Care Community
The ‘Carmichael’ Specialist Dementia Care Community (SDCC) inside Darnley Court Care Home, Glasgow, promises to meet this growing need.
Attendees at the open day on July 17 were given the opportunity to tour the SDCC, including the day spaces, a cinema room, a conservatory and lounge, and a family room. They also learned about the SDCC model, the success that HC-One is seeing in Lancashire, and how the team will be supporting residents in Darnley’s SDCC going forward.
Professor Graham Stokes, Director of Dementia Care at HC-One, said:
“We’re really proud of our Specialist Dementia Care Community model, which we feel is a revolutionary approach to dementia care. The difference between a standard residential dementia care setting and a specialist dementia unit is that the former asks ‘what’ - what is wrong with this person, what can’t they do, what have they started to do - and our specialist dementia unit asks ‘why’ - why is this person feeling this way, acting in this manner, experiencing life in this way? What we are seeing at our SDCC in Lancashire shows that this specialist approach really supports our team to work therapeutically with residents in our SDCC.”
Katy Jenks, Head of Specialist Services at HC-One stated:
“The increase in people expected to move into a care home with severe dementia in just a matter of years in stark and we’re pleased to be bringing a new approach to dementia care to Scotland.
“People with dementia can still benefit from stimulating activities and kind, therapeutic care, and we should not treat their distress as a normal part of ageing or of living with dementia. Our Specialist Dementia Care Community at Darnley Court is proof of just that – through a clinically-sound and personally-tailored approach, we focus on reducing distress for people with dementia, and it works.”
Maxine Smedley, Managing Director, HC-One Scotland commented:
“We’re delighted to have launched our very first SDCC in Scotland. We really believe that this will be a step-change for dementia care in Scotland and we’re looking forward to welcoming our new residents to Darnley’s SDCC, so we can support them to lead their best lives.”
For more information on our leading specialist dementia care service, please speak to our professional care advisors on 0333 999 8699