Dementia - Care and support in Victoria
2000 and beyond
Page content: Introduction | The Dementia framework
Introduction
The Victorian Government is committed to addressing the special needs of older Victorians and ensuring that its policies and programs recognise and reflect the diversity of older people's lives. Dementia service development and research over the past few decades provide a basis from which Victoria can move forward in providing health and community services to people with dementia, their carers and their families. The Government's commitment to the health and wellbeing of older people and their carers has enabled the development of Dementia-Care and Support in Victoria 2000 and Beyond. This framework will build on the strengths of the dementia care system and aim to address the identified weaknesses.
Dementia-Care and Support in Victoria 2000 and Beyond recommends objectives and actions for the ensuing four years for strengthening and expanding direct client service delivery to people with dementia, their carers and their families; ensuring high quality of service; and building community awareness and understanding of dementia.
The framework identifies where improved services will have practical benefits for people with dementia, their families and their carers, and provides a guide for Victorian Government decisions about service funding and delivery.
The Victorian Dementia Advisory Committee helped develop Dementia-Care and Support in Victoria 2000 and Beyond. The committee included health and community support professionals, carers and individuals with dementia related expertise (Appendices 1 and 2). In considering appropriate responses to dementia related issues, the committee accounted for the extensive consultations with key stakeholders in Victoria over the past five years.
The aim of Dementia-Care and Support in Victoria 2000 and Beyond is to encourage practical actions for improving understanding of the need for support and services for people with dementia, based on the knowledge acquired through dementia service developments and research of the past.
The scope of the Victorian Government in influencing change in aged care residential facilities will vary, given that facilities are Commonwealth funded, but may be operated by private sector providers, not for profit organisations, or public sector agencies. It is anticipated that the framework will provide a positive influence for all services that care for people with dementia.
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The Dementia framework
The Victorian Dementia Advisory Committee identified priority areas for attention in Dementia-Care and Support in Victoria 2000 and Beyond. The framework represents the identified priority areas, and is based on five key objectives.
Objectives
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Improving the quality of care by promoting measures and initiatives that relate to education and training needs.
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Developing a better co-ordinated service system to respond to the needs of people with dementia, their carers and their families.
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Improving access to services for people with dementia, their carers and their families.
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Improving public awareness of dementia and access to community education and information resources about dementia.
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Maintaining a partnership approach to identifying and developing appropriate responses to the needs of people with dementia, their carers and their families.
Also identified in the framework are actions for achieving the above objectives.
The framework reflects the need to address cultural issues in the provision of quality care. There is a continuing need to make generic and dementia-specific services more relevant to people from the Koorie community and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The framework acknowledges the need for actions designed specifically for vulnerable groups of people, such as people with early onset dementia, people living in rural areas, people living in boarding houses and non-government funded residential care, and people who experience social isolation within the community.
While the framework includes proposals for actions for making services responsive to people with special needs, these proposals would need to be implemented in partnership with the people who have distinct additional needs and their formal and informal carers.
Underpinning the framework's development has been an awareness that the onset of dementia is insidious and that the disease usually progresses slowly over a long period.
In considering how best to respond to the needs of the person with dementia, their carers and their family, it is beneficial to use the concept of a pathway of dementia-a pathway that is experienced by the person, their networks (family, social and community), their workplace, and the health and community service providers who support them (Appendix 3).
The pathway of dementia is characterised by four stages: early difficulties (the pre-diagnostic phase); the emergence of significant difficulties in daily living; a reduced capacity for independence; and incapacity and a high dependence on care.
Actions to strengthen and expand direct service delivery to people with dementia, their carers and their families need to consider service responses that reflect needs along the entire pathway of dementia. This approach will enable a high quality of service, and provide for community awareness and understanding of dementia.
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