Nurse becomes head of memory care at Sunrise Senior Living and Gracewell Healthcare

Michael Hurt, who spent over 20 years as a nurse and has taken on a new role as head of memory care at care home groups, Sunrise Senior Living and Gracewell Healthcare, says 'there is always room for improvement'.

Mr Hurt is now advising on all aspects of dementia care, including training for team members, enhancing dementia-friendly environments and supporting colleagues to deliver best practice in care. He will also lead on the introduction of new models of care for residents across each of the organisation’s 46 care homes.

He reveals that dementia care “is an area of care where you care for families almost as much as the person with dementia. You also work with likeminded people who are as passionate and dedicated as you are, whether they are a volunteer or consultant specialist in dementia. It is very much a team approach to caring.

“People with dementia are all different – when you’ve met one person with dementia, you have met one person with dementia. They often have both physical and mental health comorbidities, so as a clinician, you get to use a range of skills and develop them over time, so you really do look after the whole person.”

Michael Hurt’s ambition to work within the care sector can be traced back to when he was just three years old after he spent six weeks in hospital with a fractured femur. He later developed a specific interest in mental health as a teenager following the completion of a school project on this topic which, combined with spending time with his grandmother and growing fond of stories from older people, set in motion his desire to join the industry.

After qualifying as a nurse, Mr Hurt specialised in old age psychiatry and has since remained in the industry for over 36 years. Over the course of his career, he has worked on wards, in day hospitals, in residential care homes for those living with dementia, and also as a community mental health nurse.

He went on to qualify as a specialist nurse practitioner and nurse independent prescriber where he responded to urgent referrals, many of which were in care homes. Then, in 2009, Michael became a commissioner of dementia services and was employed as head of older people and dementia at Walsall Council and Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group. Alongside his work, Michael Hurt has taught at three universities as well as to a variety of audiences, from volunteers and members of the public, to medical staff.

Asked what he likes about working in care, Mr Hurt says his last few roles have allowed him to make significant changes which have made demonstrable improvements to the lives of those with dementia, as well as their carers and the staff supporting them.

'There is always room for improvement'

In terms of what he hopes to bring to memory care at Gracewell and Sunrise, Mr Hurt says: “I hope to improve on what we have and be good at measuring outcomes to show it works well. Sunrise and Gracewell have established dementia care and the vast majority of the homes are good or outstanding but there is always room for improvement.

“I would like to see us embrace technology as more becomes available, improve on our environment and develop a rolling training programme to equip our team members to be the best they can in dementia care as well as have the confidence to deliver that care.”

He has seen a wide variation in how dementia care is given in care homes saying: “Over the years I would suggest it varies considerably depending on motivation, experience, funding and understanding. There are care homes where you cannot see any obvious need for improvement and those that need immediate action and everything in between.

“On the whole it is improving. There is more awareness, understanding and government support in terms of policy but not necessarily enough funding to support the industry. There are more organisations that support care home staff in a variety of ways such as Skills for Care, HousingLIN, NICE as well as CCGs and local authorities.”

Recently he was asked to speak to a group of people living with dementia who simply wanted someone to give them honest answers to their questions. “I didn’t know what I would be asked but examples of questions were, Will I die from dementia? Why did I have to have this scan? Can I still drive? Why do I have hallucinations?

"I answered honestly and they thanked me for it and then a few months later I was asked by them to go again," he revealed.

Advice on what to do when a loved one with dementia no longer recognises you

When a loved one gets dementia, it can be extremely distressing for their family, especially when they no longer recognise them.

Mr Hurt advises when this happens: “It is helpful to introduce ourselves each time we go into a room with a person and say ‘my name is’ followed by ‘I am your daughter/wife/husband’ etc. Maintain good eye contact and use short sentences with a smile on your face even if you feel anxious as this will help.

“Although the person with dementia may not initially know your face, they may recognise you because of your hair style or as soon as you use your voice. Lightening the mood and a good sense of humour also tends to help. However, it is not usually helpful to say, 'don’t you remember me?'"

“Most people with dementia I visited as a community nurse did not know my name or why I was there but they thought that they knew me somehow. I would say 'Hello, I am Michael, the community nurse' and that would help.

“It may also help to show photographs of you together from the past as they may recognise those if they don’t recognise you now. You can say for example, 'This is you and this is me together on holiday - don’t we look older now?'"

On being asked what his aims and ambitions are for Sunrise and Gracewell, Michael Hurt said: “This bit is easy. I want Sunrise and Gracewell to be the best dementia care provider.”

There is a huge range of job opportunities in the care home sector. If you are looking for a job in social care, click here for the leading UK care home jobs board.