A dementia-friendly housing workforce

Housing staff are important in supporting people with dementia to manage their homes, and in creating dementia-friendly communities. Strong leadership is important in recruiting the right people and supporting them in their work. The type of dementia training required by housing and care staff will depend on the staff member’s role. 

Awareness raising for all staff: 

• Understand why dementia awareness is important and how there is more to the person than dementia
• Be able to challenge prejudice and stigma

Foundation training for housing and care staff:

• Spot early signs of dementia and signpost people for early diagnosis
• Help people to live well with dementia
• Provide person-centred support as part of a team including family and carers

Extra skills:

• Manage the housing environment
• Support relationships with other people
• Manage the rights and choices of individuals whilst minimising risks

Organisations can provide their own training. There are also a range of local, national and online courses in dementia care. These vary from short courses through to awards in dementia care.   

• Guidance Open

  Dementia housing friendly charter: guidance on delivering a dementia-friendly approach to housing – Alzheimer’s Society (2018)

  Housing call to action – Dementia Action Alliance (2015)
  A statement encouraging housing providers and associated organisations to join the Dementia Action Alliance and sign up to the National Dementia Declaration.

  Becoming a dementia-friendly organisation: summary report - Institute of Public Care and The Guinness Partnership (2015)
  Summarises work undertaken by The Guinness Partnership to become a dementia-friendly organisation. It includes information on what a dementia-friendly housing, care and support organisation should look like and the characteristics of dementia-friendly services and homes.

  Independent evaluation of The Guinness Partnership's Dementia Project - Housing Learning and Improvement Network (2018)
  An evaluation of the progress made by The Guinness Partnership in becoming a more dementia-friendly organisation since 2015.

  Making a Start. Dementia: skilling up the general needs housing workforce - Dementia and Housing Working Group (2014)
  Outlines why it is important for the housing workforce to be skilled in working with people living with dementia and includes examples of organisations who have already taken steps to raise awareness of dementia amongst their workforce.

  Working with smaller housing organisations to create dementia friendly organisations - Orbit Charitable Trust (2014)
  Includes guidance on creating an action plan to become a dementia-friendly organisation and offers best practice examples of successful initiatives piloted by housing providers.

• Resources and tools Open

  Making a Start. Dementia: skilling up the general needs housing workforce - Resource pack - Dementia and Housing Working Group (2014)
  Includes an awareness-raising and training framework for housing staff and examples of good practice.

  DeAR GP – helping residents get an early dementia diagnosis - Health Innovation Network South London (2017)
  This tool, originally developed to support care home staff to identify people who may have dementia and refer them to their GP for review, has been adapted to support staff working in housing and community settings.

  Dementia training standards framework - Skills for Health, Health Education England, Skills for Care (2018)
  Framework to support consistent dementia education and training for the health and care workforce. The framework will also be helpful for staff in housing settings to improve joint working with the health and social care sectors.

  Getting to know the person with dementia – SCIE (2015)
  Highlights the importance of getting kno know the person and understanding how dementia is affecting their life if the support offered is to be genuinely helpful.

• Case studies Open

  Dementia Action Alliance website includes case studies of dementia-friendly initiatives in the housing sector. They include: Southwark DAA Dementia Friendly Environments, Smarter Homes for the Future and Gentoo Healthwise Project

  Are we nearly there yet? Enabling people with dementia to remain at home: a housing perspective - Housing LIN (2017)

  Making a start. Dementia - skilling the general needs housing workforce. Resource pack – Dementia and Housing Working Group (2014).
  Includes good practice examples which show what housing organisations have done to become to become more dementia aware.

  Dementia friendly communities: guidance for councils – LGA and Innovations in Dementia (2015)
  Includes case studies that show what councils and their partners can do to help ensure that housing supports people with dementia to live as independently as possible and connect with their local community.

  Working with smaller housing organisations to create dementia friendly organisations - Orbit Charitable Trust (2014)
  Includes useful guidance on creating an action plan to become a dementia-friendly organisation and offers best practice examples of successful initiatives piloted by housing providers across the country.

  Dementia: findings housing solutions – National Housing Federation (2013)
  Includes a case study of the benefits of training staff as Dementia Champions at the Notting Hill Housing Trust (page 16)

  Transforming care pathways for people with dementia: linking housing, health and social care – National Housing Federation and HACT (2015)
  This briefing aims to encourage closer working between health, social care and housing. It includes case studies that show the contribution housing can make to help people live well with dementia.

• Organisations Open

  Dementia Action Alliance
  An alliance or organisations across England committed to transforming health and social care outcomes for people affected by dementia. Their database of members includes organisations from the housing sector.

  Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Friends initiative
  Information on how organisations can register and become involved with the Dementia Friends initiative and work towards becoming dementia friendly.

  Chartered Institute of Housing
  CIH, the professional body for the housing sector offer a training programme and bespoke training. Their previous training has included Dementia and wellbeing in housing

  Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), University of Stirling
  The DSDC delivers training and education programmes. The housing edition of the DSDC’s Best Practice in Dementia Care Learning Programme has been validated as supporting the housing profession by the Chartered Institute of Housing. The DSDC also run other programmes relevant for housing staff.

  Skills for Care