Dementia care
All Brotherhood aged and community care services are supported by a Dementia Care Consultant.
The consultant’s work is based on our Dementia Care Model, which uses a person-centred philosophy, placing the person experiencing dementia and their family at the centre of all care planning and service provision.
Looking at life experience in its entirety, including both the joys and challenges of living with dementia, the consultant works with clients, families and paid staff to identify individual needs, appropriate services and the support required to maintain the individual in the community.
Our Dementia Care Consultant offers:
- expert advice and support to people living with dementia and their family carers
- information and guidance to Brotherhood staff in relation to all aspects of dementia and dementia care
- resource materials, such as assessment tools and behaviour management tools
- a dementia lending library, comprising written resources, interactive kits and tools that can be used for engaging people with dementia in activities
- training and education to Brotherhood staff and volunteers, clients, family carers and paid carers
- ongoing monitoring and reviewing of dementia care practices and mentoring of Brotherhood staff in the take-up of new care practices
- community awareness opportunities regarding dementia.
Programs initiated by our Dementia Care Consultant to improve the quality of life of those experiencing dementia and their informal carers include:
- Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) – this program involves one hour per week of intensive interaction between trained staff and people with dementia in a small group situation. It identifies clients’ competencies in different areas and improves and builds on their strengths. CST was developed in the United Kingdom, and Brotherhood staff are trained to deliver it in Victoria.
- ‘Caring for Carers ‘ – the aim of this project is to decrease the anxiety, frustration and sense of burden often felt by informal carers, to enable them to continue caring for their loved one for a longer period. It runs for 10 months, initially involving two hours per week for two months of one-on-one contact between the carer and a consultant, which includes discussing and brainstorming strategies, care planning and sharing tools, kits and resources. A further eight months of weekly contact, discussion and review follows to ensure that strategies are put in place for ongoing support and resources.
Contact us
Dementia Care Consultant
Brotherhood of St Laurence
Integrated Community Aged and Disability Services
2–4 Overton Road
Frankston Vic. 3199
Phone: (03) 9781 4200
Email: bacci@nullbsl.org.au