Identifying Gaps in Dementia Care

Running head: CLINICAL PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
IDENTIFYING THE GAPS AND LOOPHOLES IN DEMENTIA CARE
ID number:
Unit code and title: GCNCP3 Clinical Project
Title of assignment: CLINICAL PROJECT
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Date:

1CLINICAL PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
Dementia is a syndrome or a collection of various symptoms that affects the cognitive
ability of elderly patients due to which they become unable to process their thoughts (Moyer,
2014). This syndrome could be chronic or progressive in nature and due to this, mild to severe
effects are observed in their calculation, memory, thinking ability, learning capacity, analyzing
skills and comprehensive orientation (Seitz et al., 2014). Further, with the commencement of
deterioration process of cognitive ability, the patient’s starts developing emotional weakness that
led become socially isolated (Moyer, 2014). As per the World Health Organization (2019),
dementia is the primary reason for wide array of physical and mental disabilities among the
elderly patients and it made them dependent on their family members as well as carers for
activities of daily life. This results in increased consciousness, stigma and affects the care
process by developing barriers where social, psychological and economic aspects prevail (Kasper
et al., 2015).
In the United Kingdom, dementia has been emerged as a major concern for elderly
population. With increased life expectancy and prevailing solitary lifestyle, more than 670,000
people in England are currently suffering from dementia and majority of them are above the age
of 65 (Alzheimer's Society, 2019). However, around the world, care process for dementia lacks
even baseline requirements associated with lack of healthcare professionals, nursing
professionals, infrastructure of care homes and Laws and regulations due to which majority of
the patient are left unattended and their care needs are unmet (Alzheimer's Society, 2019).
Therefore, as a care professional, specifically as a dementia care nursing professional,
this has been chosen as the clinical area of nursing and improvement and acquiring skills for

2CLINICAL PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
holistic and comprehensive care for the dementia affected patients has been chosen as the
objective. In the paper, with the help of recent literatures and the researchers conducted, the gaps
present in the care process of dementia affected patients will be found and then estimation will
be drawn about the achievement of the extent of objectives so that those skills could be used to
develop quality practice as a dementia care nursing professional (Moyer, 2014). Further, the
benefits associated with this learning skills, barriers present in the learning of this skills and
literature support present about the learning needs will be provided in the assignment. Finally, in
the paper, the implication of the learning skills in the care process of dementia affected patient
will be mentioned (Vaingankar et al., 2016).
Relevance of dementia related care
On 28th February, 2012, The Telegraph (2012) provided a study details in which majority
of the dementia care professionals were found agitated and disturbing while working with
vulnerable dementia patients. This article mentions that majority of the nursing professionals
working with dementia patients are not provided adequate training and skill development
sessions and due to these, while working with older and vulnerable patients, they feel burn out or
disturbed. Another news website The Conversation (2018) posted a report on January 13, 2018
that mentions the shortage of health care professionals in aged care centers due to which majority
of the older patients affected with dementia are left unattended. It was mentioned in that news
article that the shortage of nursing professionals in England are due to the high workload and
increasing pressure due to increased life expectancy and increased number of older patients in
the healthcare facility (Mitchell et al., 2017). Hence, these news articles published in reputed
newspapers and websites points out towards the gap or lack present in the care system that
increases difficulties for healthcare professionals while working with elder patients who are

3CLINICAL PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
affected with dementia. Further, increased work pressure in the healthcare facilities and the lack
of training or skills required for the care process of such patient’s increases the difficulties of
nursing professionals due to which, patients, and their care needs remain unattended (Vaingankar
et al., 2016). Therefore, from the above mentioned scenario, it is clear that gaps are present in the
dementia care system and the gap is associated to the nursing professionals, their training and
skill development because majority of them do not receive such training prior to join the
healthcare facilities (Mitchell et al., 2017).
Reason for choosing this project
Dementia is known as a mental health condition, due to which people loses their ability to
think comprehensively, to calculate the outcome of their action and can measure the impact of
outcome of their actions (Gifford et al., 2014). Therefore, this mental trauma makes them
vulnerable to minimum and negligible changes occurring around them. Further the care process
of dementia should be inclusive of dignity, empathy, involvement of patients and they should be
provided with ongoing support so that effective care could be provided. However, as per Science
Daily (2017), in this age of globalization, healthcare sector is facing several issues related to
nursing recruitment, their training and development. it has been seen in the research of Chinkhata
(2016), that majority of the student and enrolled nursing professionals are forced to join the
mainstream nursing force as the healthcare facilities are facing shortage of professionals.
However, this early involvement of untrained and non-skilled nursing professionals is increasing
the burden of care on the registered nursing professionals by increasing their responsibility of
training them with ongoing care of patients (Chinkhata 2016). Due to this, burn outs, depression
and agitation among nursing professionals have been witnessed. Therefore, these training and
shortage of nursing professional’s related issues have been chosen as the topic of this assignment