Dementia care at home

Why home can be the right place

For many people living with dementia, home is where they feel most themselves. Their things are where they expect them, the route to the kitchen is familiar and the neighbours know them. Good care at home protects all of that while keeping the person safe.

How our carers support people with dementia

• Routine first: the same order to the morning, the same mug, the same chair, so each day feels familiar.
• Life story: we learn who the person is, their work, family, music and food, and use it in conversation and activity.
• Calm communication: short sentences, one choice at a time, time to answer and no arguing with someone’s reality.
• Eating and drinking: encouraging food and fluids, finger foods when cutlery is hard, and watching for weight loss.
• Safety: reducing falls, managing medicines as the care plan says, and noticing infection or pain, which can make confusion worse.
• Distress: understanding what lies behind agitation, such as pain, boredom, noise or fear, and responding to the cause.

Support for the family too

Caring for someone with dementia is hard and it often goes on for years. Regular visits, respite care and night care can give family carers the time and sleep they need. Family carers can ask the council for a carer’s assessment of their own needs, whatever their income.

As dementia progresses

Needs change over time. We review the care plan regularly and adjust it, from a daily check and medication prompt early on to personal care, moving and handling and, when the time comes, end of life care. When someone needs support at many points in the day, live-in care can mean they never have to move.

For information and support, the NHS dementia guide and the Alzheimer’s Society are good places to start.