SCIE Practice guide 09: Dignity in care

Dignity in Care within mental health - Older people's mental health

Introduction

The core values cited by CSIP in their Older People's Mental Health programme are in line with the values of the Dignity in Care campaign and could be referred to when adapting the general Dignity in Care principles to people with mental health issues.

• Include service users and their carers in a meaningful way.
• Pursue links with other organisations and support the development of networks to promote the needs of older people living with mental health needs and/or their carers.
• Share skills, experiences and ideas in order to further the pursuit of improvements in the care of older people living with mental health issues.

Other resources

SCIE’s e-learning resources on the mental health of older people - SCIE’s latest e-learning resource will help social care students and workers to understand the basics of older people’s mental health. The resource includes interactive quizzes, short commentaries, video and audio clips on, for example: risks and protective factors, common mental health problems, understanding dementia, discrimination and services available. The resource can also be used by trainers, lecturers and practice development leads with their students or staff.

Link: e-learning resources on the mental health of older people.

Supplementary guidance for Older Peoples’ Mental Health Services - 10 High Impact Changes for Mental Health Services published by CSIP in April 2007 supports Older Peoples Mental Health services in implementing the 10 High Impact Changes for Mental Health Services. It advises what each High Impact Change might mean for Older Peoples Mental Health Services, and additional resources to support each of the High Impact Changes.

Link: Older people’s mental health programme - key documents

Lets respect - A specific initiative within the Older People’s Mental Health Programme is the Lets Respect campaign aimed at helping healthcare staff who do not have a background in mental health understand how they can care more effectively for older people with mental health needs when they are receiving treatment for physical health problems in an acute hospital environment. The toolkit has been distributed throughout all acute hospitals and there is an active network supporting improved practice in this area.

Link: Lets Respect

Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) are running a programme to address the needs of older people with Mental Health issues. The programme aims to support mental health in mainstream and specialist services to:

• improve people’s quality of life
• meet complex needs in a co-ordinated way
• provide a person-centred approach
• promote age equality

Link: Older People's mental Health programme

Department of Health, National Dementia Strategy - The first ever national dementia strategy was launched in August 2007 to tackle shortcomings in dementia services. The strategy is aimed at patients, carers, professionals and wider society.

Link: National Dementia Implementation Plan

SCIE Practice guide 2: Assessing the mental health needs of older people

Link: SCIE Practice guide 2

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