The Fife Dementia Strategy: 2010 – 2020 - The Knowledge Network

Researcher: Is there anything that you used to do at home that you don’t
get to do here (in the care home)?
Service user 2: I would like to go out more. To the park, or for a drive, a
run, you know?
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Service user 1: At the end of the month we are going to Kinross.
Researcher: Right. And how often do you normally get out [for activities]?
Service User 1: Oh, about every three months or something like that.
4.10.6 Establish new and strengthen existing communication networks
and standard methods for information sharing across the range of
community and long term care services to encourage knowledge
transfer.
As highlighted in Section 3, there is a great deal of dementia specific
knowledge and expertise within Fife and within long term care staff. However,
at present this knowledge is not being effectively shared and disseminated,
thus limiting the number of service users who benefit from it. In order to
improve the quality of care, providers must work together to share ideas and
experiences, learning from one another about what has worked and what
hasn’t.
Fife Council care homes currently share best practice ideas and experiences
through the Good Practice with Dementia Group. The Group meets bi-monthly
and focuses on learning from experiences and innovative practices in their
partner care homes. To date sessions have included life-story work, dolltherapy
with people with dementia, recognising and managing pain in
dementia, and the use of new communication techniques such as Talking
Mats©. In order to facilitate knowledge transfer and joint working across all
long term care facilities in Fife, the Group will hold quarterly discussion forums
focused on disseminating best practice for people with dementia and opened
to facilities throughout Fife.
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