Legislation and frameworks for dementia

Care Standards Act 2000

This legislation affects and supports people with dementia as it has different laws. Some of these laws are things like helping people to wash and dress themselves. This helps people with dementia, as when it becomes advanced they lose their fine motor skills and they find it difficult to do simple tasks like fasten buttons and hold things, so it also makes it hard for them to wash. They have carers that will do this for them and help them do it. The legislation affects the patients care as the carer has to follow rules, such as making sure that the patient has privacy and dignity, such as washing them where nobody can see them and undressing them where they can’t be seen by other people.

If this legislation wasn’t in place it would affect the person with dementia as they could be washed anywhere, and this could be in front of other people, which would mean that their body is exposed. This legislation also makes sure that people (who have had any mental disorders, are disabled or have had an addiction to drugs or alcohol) have suitable accommodation to stay in. As dementia is classified as a mental disorder, this act makes sure that they are living somewhere suitable, and it also makes sure that people with dementia are treated equally.

Mental Capacity Act 2005

The mental capacity act is a legislation that gives a person (who has mental problems) a chance to receive the same care as others, by allowing a family member or spouse to make decisions for them, regarding their health, if they are unable to do this themselves. It supports people who have dementia as it makes sure that all adults have the right to make their own decisions if they have the capacity to do this. The adults also must be assumed to have the mental capacity unless it is proven otherwise, and any decision made for a person who lacks mental capacity must be in their best interest.

It also makes sure that if a person makes an unwise decision they shouldn’t be treated as if they have a lack in capacity. These legislations do things like taking over finance if the person doesn’t understand how to do this, having carers to look after them in the daytime or be in full time care, where they will be looked after 24 hours a day, and it makes sure that people cannot judge them just because they have mental issues. This legislation affects the persons care as it allows them to make their own decisions, such as if they want to go into a care home, or if they don’t want to take medication. It makes sure that they have the freedom to decide things on their own, without having someone make all of their decisions for them.

Mental Health Act 1983 amended 2007

This act covers the treatment, assessment and care of mentally disorientated people. This act determines if a person can be detained for treatment and an assessment regarding a mental health disorder (such as a dementia patient can be kept in hospital for medication that they need). An assessment is made to make sure that the person is eligible to be detained and given medication. An example of this would be a dementia patient getting an assessment to decide if he or she needs to stay in hospital for treatment and be detained or if they can go home and refuse the treatment, and they would have to meet most of the criteria in order for this to happen. The act regulates that an application for the treatment must be supported my 2 medical practitioners, and that they both agree on the patients care, by stating why the treatment is necessary.

This affects the dementia patients care as it allows them to receive treatment, in order for them to become healthier and well again. The dementia patient may not understand the rights in the act, so health care workers have a duty of making sure that the patient is safe in their environment, such as at home, in a residential home or in hospital. This affects the patients care, as it ensures that they do not injure themselves and that they are being cared for properly, e.g. the risk of them falling would be much lower as they have the support from the people around them to ensure their safety. The act was also amended in 2007 and it made changes to two things, these are: that a mental disorder is a single definition, rather than having different categories. And it enables practitioners to perform the same job as a social worker. This would affect the care of the patient as they are not being judged and they have more people ensuring that they are safe in their surroundings.

Frameworks

Nursing and Midwifery Code of Conduct 2007

The nursing and midwifery code of conduct makes sure that staff are properly trained to do their job properly and that people can trust them doing their job, and that they trust them with their health and wellbeing, and it makes sure that staff are trustworthy and that they can treat people with respect. The nursing and midwifery code of conduct makes sure that: staff treat people as individuals so that their privacy and dignity is protected, and that they are not discriminated against, peoples confidentiality must be respected, you must disclose information if it is believed that someone is in danger. And it makes sure that consent is gained, such as when providing care or treatment. This affects patient care as the Code of Conduct ensures that people are treated correctly and that boundaries are not being broken, such as patients being abused. It makes sure that people are dealt with properly and that records are kept, and that they are securely kept and updated at all times. This affects patient care as it ensures that nothing goes wrong, such as they might be given overdoses of medication if records are not kept up to date.

Living Well With Dementia

The framework provides a strategy within local services, which means that they can: deliver quality improvements to dementia services and address health inequalities relating to dementia. They can also provide advice, guidance and support for health and social care commissioners and providers, in the planning, development and monitoring of services. And they can provide a guide to the content of high quality services for dementia patients. This affects the care of dementia patients, as this act makes sure that the patients have the correct facilities and support for them, so that they have a good quality of care and that they are respected and able to ‘Live well’. It means that they can have special services to help them, such as carers coming to their houses and looking after them, or being in a care home where they can be looked after all day and night. This act makes sure that people with dementia are looked after and cared for equally, as everyone else is being treated.

National Framework for Older People

This framework was set up to make sure that the NHS patients stay healthy, active and independent for as long as possible by building partnerships between the patient and staff members. It tries to make sure that patients with dementia don’t deteriorate as fast as they should by trying to keep them mobile and independent, and making sure that they are provided with dignity and respect. This affects the care of the individual as it promotes their quality of life and respects personal choices and respects their independence. It makes sure that the patients are treated fairly and properly by staff members and carers. It also tries to speed up the discharge of patients and helping them to have a better and faster recovery, so that more patients can be looked after. And it also makes sure that staff members are aware of the common risks in older patients, like trips, falls and serious injuries. The staff members must be aware of trips, falls and serious injuries so that they can be reduced and things can be put into place to stop them from happening.