Press Release

Anchor Champions the Dignity Challenge

7 July 2008

Anchor Trust is leading the way in supporting the Government’s Dignity Challenge – by registering all its dementia care specialists as Dignity Champions.

With over 200 registered so far, Anchor has more Dignity Champions than any other national organisation outside the NHS.

And it is the only body which registers Champions on completion of a training course designed to improve the specialist dementia care skills of staff.

Speaking at the start of Dementia Awareness Week, Victoria Metcalfe, the manager of Anchor’s Specialist Dementia Care Team, said:

“To be leading the way in the registration of Dignity Champions is a fantastic achievement for us.

“Dignity, sensitivity and respect are watchwords within Anchor.

“The care that we offer to those with dementia is guided by person-centred principles, and our carers are trained to focus on life history and individual preferences.

“For us, it is crucial that our care staff get to know the individual, and don’t concentrate on the dementia with which they live.”

Victoria and her team have created a five-day course in specialist dementia care, called ‘Developing Dementia Care Practice’.

The aim of the course is to give senior managers and carers in Anchor Homes an in-depth understanding and knowledge of principles behind person-centred care, with a view to sharing good practice with all care home staff.

The learning outcomes include:

• Better understanding of communication and behaviours to promote the rights and choices of our residents;
• The fostering of an enabling environment and the application of appropriate personal care; and
• A full appreciation of life history to improve care planning and to ensure that residents are engaged with activities that promote their well-being, such as meaningful occupation.

To pass the course, each student must attend four training days with the Specialist Dementia Care Team, and then work independently on a project module which they present to the Team on the fifth and final day.

Dignity Champions are part of the Government’s Dignity in Care Campaign, and will act as trailblazers for health and social care good practice which promotes dignity and respect.

All those who complete the course successfully are then registered as Dignity Champions.

Victoria continued:

“We currently have 211 registered Dignity Champions and hope to have many more as our staff continue to complete the five-day course.”

The Anchor Team recently won a Community Care Excellence Network award in the ‘excellence in training’ category, and Victoria herself is acknowledged as one of the country’s leading dementia care experts after being named a Community Care Champion.