Alzheimer Scotland welcomes Care Commission report

Alzheimer Scotland welcomes the Care Commission report, Better care every step of the way, which highlights some of the shortcomings in Scottish care homes with regards to palliative care, end-of-life care and life-limiting illnesses.

Kate Fearnley, Director of Personalisation at Alzheimer Scotland, said:

"Sadly these results are not particularly surprising. Our own study in Dumfries & Galloway in 2007 found that the management of end of life care in care homes is patchy and inconsistent. Some care homes were better than others at meeting physical care needs in final stages. However, it was clear that in many cases emotional, spiritual and social needs were not being met.

"Dementia has only recently been recognised as a life-limiting condition and thus much of the earlier discussions around palliative and end-of-life care have not included the specific needs of people with this illness.

"The progressive deterioration associated with dementia means that a person with the illness steadily loses their ability to communicate. The key is to train care staff to recognise indicators of discomfort or pain when that person is no longer able to tell them directly. Differences in behaviour and other subtle indications, such as how the person responds to touch, can be vital indicators as to comfort or distress. Being able to recognise these (often very slight) details is a skill that definitely requires training.

"Alzheimer Scotland's Beyond Barriers project has been working with fifty care homes across Scotland on dementia and palliative care, helping staff to recognise these signs, particularly by incorporating the experiences and wishes of family members of people with dementia into the training."