BSI calls for comment on Dementia Care Guide

Developed with the University of Bradford and a panel of healthcare experts, PAS 800 (Publicly Available Specification) will ensure that care provider organizations such as hospital wards and care homes have comprehensive guidance to assist them in the Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) process.  Ultimately this should lead to improved well-being and quality of life for people with dementia. 

DCM was developed in the 1980s as a process for evaluation the quality of care from the perspective of the person with dementia.  It involves observing a number of people with dementia over a period of time, recording information about their experience of care, analyzing and interpreting the data and then feeding it back to staff.  This information is used to draw up an action plan to make improvements to well-being and quality of life. 

PAS 800 provides a guide to the principles of, and recommendations for the use of, DCM.  Intended for providers of care homes, nursing homes, hospital wards, day care and interim care services, it offers clear guidance on the components of DCM, including the DCM observation stage, face-to-face feedback with staff, action planning and implementation.

Claire Surr of Bradford Dementia Care Group who leads the PAS 800 Steering Group, said: “PAS 800 is an important milestone in the development of DCM and the quality of dementia care.  It draws together best practice gathered over the last 25 years of DCM to ensure that those involved in the process have clear guidance to assist them.  We view this standard as complimentary to the Department of Health’s Dementia Strategy, which aims to improve services for those with dementia.

There are around 700,000 people living with dementia in the UK today and this figure is set to rise. Dementia Care Mapping presents clear benefits for the person with dementia. We know that the small things which create joy or distress in a person’s life are very easy to miss in the course of general care but can be picked up clearly in the mapping process and addressed, offering a greater opportunity for well-being.  There are also benefits for the care provider or facility including increased specialist knowledge, reduced staff turn-over and a shared language across different professions and management and care. PAS 800 demonstrates how these benefits can be delivered. 

I strongly encourage those with an interest in the area of Dementia Care Mapping to review and comment on PAS 800.”

The draft PAS 800 is available for comment until 23 October 2009.