Riverlee Nursing Home, Greenwich, chooses "dementia champions" for national study

The Department of Health has selected sixteen homes to take part in a pilot study, the findings from which will be used to develop a training package to drive up the standards of dementia care provision in care homes.

In particular the study will focus on how carers can make positive contributions to residents with sensitive mental health, with the aim of reducing the over-reliance on medication when tackling challenging behaviours within the care environment.

Riverlee Nursing Home, in Greenwich, run by Sanctuary Care, is one of the sixteen homes that has embraced the study, having selected four ‘dementia champions’ who will be trained by experts led by Professor Clive Ballard, chief investigator for NIHR WHELD (National Institute for Health Research: Well-being and Health of People Living with Dementia).

Welcoming the study, Riverlee manager Rebecca Sowle commented: “The team here have been really enthusiastic about taking part in the study and we think it’s an honour to be involved in something that could potentially by pioneering the future of dementia care.”

Ms Sowle continued: “We pride ourselves on providing the highest standards of person-centred care for all of our residents – the majority of whom are living with dementia – but dementia care is an area that is constantly evolving and I am very excited to be involved in this study and to see if there is even more we can be doing to help our residents.”

The study is due to run until August, with fifteen residents from each home taking part and a larger clinical trial to be announced in the autumn.

Image: Riverlee Nursing Home