Dementia Care and Support in Victoria
Objective 1
Improve the quality of care by promoting measures and initiatives that relate to education and training needs
Page content: Introduction | Ensure access to Statewide training by supporting dementia training courses | Facilitate the continuing availability of dementia related educational resources | Promote the inclusion of dementia-specific education components in undergraduate and vocational education courses | Support the establishment and maintenance of a dementia information clearing house | Expand and maintain the Alzheimer's Association Victoria web site | Foster the development of cooperative dementia education
Introduction
Services for people with dementia and their carers are delivered in many settings, including acute care, sub-acute care, respite care, community care and long-term care. The service providers are people with a range of qualifications and skill levels- from the surgeon and anaesthetist in an acute hospital to the volunteer in a day care centre. All service providers require a level of understanding of dementia issues to ensure the provision of quality care.
The training and education of dementia workers are vital in ensuring the quality of that care.
Actions
1.1 Ensure access to Statewide training by supporting dementia training courses
Community based and residential services often lack staff with an appropriate level of knowledge and understanding of dementia.
Staff turnover presents further challenges to efforts to improve skill levels, and requires service providers to be able to access education and training programs on an ongoing basis.
Dementia education and training of staff who provide residential and community services will contribute to the delivery of quality services.
Making Statewide dementia training more accessible requires a staged approach. It will be necessary to understand the dementia courses available for on-site in-service training; to identify the workforce groups that require training and clarify the relevant care settings (community care, acute care, long-term care, etc.); and to understand the education needs of the workforce in particular settings.
Finally, education resources must be effectively targeted to ensure maximum value for the provision of quality care to people with dementia, their carers and their families.
1.2 Facilitate the continuing availability of dementia related educational resources
The ongoing availability of educational dementia resources is critical to meeting the educational and training needs of carers. Maintaining the currency and availability of education and training material will enable existing and future staff to have access to consistent educational and training material.
A commitment to workforce education and training requires the ongoing availability of education and training material. Further, not all education is achieved through formal channels, so more general informal educational material must also be accessible on an ongoing basis.
A number of dementia training packages and general dementia education materials have already been developed. It is now important to identify the dementia training packages and educational material being used, along with the material most likely to have an impact on the educational needs of people affected by dementia.
1.3 Promote the inclusion of dementia-specific education components in undergraduate and vocational education courses
The main training for health professionals such as nurses, medical practitioners, allied health staff and social workers occurs at an undergraduate educational level. The dementia information content of undergraduate courses is recognised as lacking clarity.
Work several years ago identified accredited courses within the vocational education and training system that contained some dementia-specific content. However, the number of dementia-specific modules available is unknown, as is the dementia content of the existing accredited courses.
The State Community Services and Health Industry Training Board is the principal source of advice on industry training priorities. Each year, it identifies these priorities in consultation with training providers and industry representatives.
To promote dementia-specific education components for undergraduate and vocational education courses, existing dementia-specific education components need to be identified for a number of workforce groups. Cooperation with the Industry Training Board will assist this process.
Further, compulsory dementia-specific course requirements need to be actively promoted in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
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1.4 Support the establishment and maintenance of a dementia information clearing house
Many dementia educational and training resources have already been produced, along with much general information and material on quality models of dementia service delivery.
A central dementia resource repository would efficiently provide broad access to general information, information about best practice models of service delivery, and available educational tools. It would complement current academic and medical research resources such as the Cochrane Collaboration.
For a clearing house/resource library to be established, first the functional scope of the clearing house must be formulated, and then an appropriate sponsor must be identified (that is, where access to and the promotion of the available dementia material would best occur). The role of the clearing house in relation to other dementia actions would require consideration.
The use of available information technology, such as the Internet, would need to be considered to ensure the ease and breadth of access to information.
1.5 Expand and maintain the Alzheimer's Association Victoria web site
The Alzheimer's Association Victoria has a pivotal role in providing information and educational material to families directly affected by dementia, the general public and service providers. Material is disseminated through brochures and help sheets, a help line, educational packages and a web site.
The use of technology has facilitated increased access to reliable and accurate information about dementia for various service providers, families and the general public. Further development and ongoing maintenance of the Alzheimer's Association Victoria web site will enhance its value as a consolidated point of contact for information and education about dementia.
Such site development will require ongoing cooperation with other web site links (such as the Department of Human Services, the CDAMS, Aged Care Assessment Services, Psychogeriatric Assessment and Treatment Services, Better Health Channel and the Prometheus On Line Resource Centre). Easy access to the web sites of complementary services is important.
1.6 Foster the development of cooperative dementia education activities for general practitioners through the Divisions of General Practice and the CDAMS
The role of the general practitioner in the initial diagnosis and subsequent care of people with dementia is vital. The general practitioner's involvement spans a number of care settings (from community care to long-term residential care) that require knowledge about dementia.
Linking general practitioners with the CDAMS in educational activities planned and developed by the local CDAMS and Division of General Practice would provide an opportunity to develop educational methods suited to the local practitioners.
Fostering cooperation between the CDAMS and the Divisions of General Practice for education purposes will be considered as part of the review of the progress of the CDAMS. This will encourage educational activities reflecting consistent Statewide principles while providing for local needs.
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