The course  - Person Centred Care for People with Dementia - is being provided free of charge to a total of 60 Wandsworth based care professionals over its first year.

The first group of 20 students has now successfully completed the training and were presented with their graduation certificates by the council's executive member for adult services Cllr Jim Maddan.

The long-term aim is to extend the training to the wider care sector.

The initiative has been developed by Wandsworth's adult social services team in partnership with Nightingale care home in Balham, The Alzheimer's Society and South Thames College.

Cllr Jim Maddan said:
"People with this condition can find care homes to be unfamiliar places full of people they cannot recognise.  This specialist course teaches local care staff how to build meaningful relationships with people with dementia and improve their quality of life.

"It encourages carers to enter into the person's emotional world and use knowledge about their past to create lasting new connections.  The aim is to move away from traditional models of care where a person with dementia is expected to live by strict residential routines.  Instead, the course emphasises how crucial it is to put the person at the forefront of their care and daily life."

Councillor Jim Maddan presenting Roselyn Singh with her course completion certificate at Nightingale care home, Balham.

 

May 20, 2010