SCIE media releases 2010
Dementia Gateway – new content in Dementia Awareness Week
05 July 2010
Try to understand how hard it is for us…it’s just that you can’t see the missing bits that we are having to cope without.
Christine Bryden, a woman with dementia.
An online resource that supports people with dementia, their carers, and staff working in dementia services has been updated by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) to coincide with Dementia Awareness Week 2010.
The Dementia Gateway, created in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Society, helps carers to understand dementia and the challenges they may face when looking after people who have the condition. The website offers practical tips, tools, and activities on key areas in an accessible and user-friendly format.
SCIE says the Gateway contains all you need to know about dementia, and the new content builds on what is already the most comprehensive set of resources that have been developed. Each section has been written by a national dementia expert, so users can be sure the information and guidance is up-to-date and reflects current good practices. The updated sections include:
- Difficult situations
- Keeping active and occupied
- The environment.
SCIE's Director of Adult Services David Walden says:
As our knowledge about dementia grows, so do the tools we can produce to support people to understand the condition, and in turn help those with dementia to ‘live well’. For example, not everyone caring for someone with dementia will be trained – many will be family members coping the best they can. Therefore it is extremely important that the most up-to-date information and advice is easily accessible to all. That is what the Dementia Gateway is for.
The new-look Gateway will also provide ‘learning records’ for people to keep track of what they have learnt, and new sections including ‘end of life’ and ‘making decisions’.
Case studies
SCIE also offers access to a series of films developed for its Social Care TV service. These films cover dementia and other relevant topics such as nutrition and personalisation. Case studies featured in these films may be available for interview. Quotes can also be taken directly from the films.
Media contact
Steve Palmer | Press and Public Affairs Manager | T: 020 7024 7733 | M: 07739 458 192 | Email: media@scie.org.uk
Notes to editors
- Visit the Dementia Gateway. It is run in conjunction with Social Care TV and SCIE’s e-learning resources.
- The Dementia Gateway was originally developed with care home staff and domiciliary care workers primarily in mind, but its content will be relevant and useful to anyone who comes into contact with a person with dementia, such as registered general, mental and district nurses, general and acute hospital staff, GPs, allied health care professionals, social workers, ambulance service staff, community support workers (meals on wheels, transport services) and family carers.
- See five new films about dementia on Social Care TV.
- Visit the Alzheimer's Society’s website
- Find out more about SCIE
Quote: Christine Bryden, writing in her book, Dancing with dementia: my story of living positively with dementia.
