Maureen Cossar from our Health and Social Care Improvement Team, gives an update on the delivery of our Practical Dementia Resources project
I’ve just returned from the 19th UK Dementia Congress in Manchester, giving me the chance to place another pin on the map of conferences where the Care Inspectorate has been spreading the word about our anticipated Practical Dementia Resources project.
If course, our jurisdiction is solely Scotland, so why were we invited to speak south of the border? It is no secret that health and social care systems across the UK are facing challenges, and when it comes to dementia care, we need to share and receive best practice from far and wide.
I am always keen to emphasise the word “practical” in “Practical Dementia Resources” because when it comes to dementia care, while we have shelves of books and training materials on non-pharmacological approaches to stress and distress, putting those high-level ideas into practice on the front line is where the challenge lies. This is the critical implementation gap that the project aims to close.
The platform is being co-designed and co-developed by and for the practitioners who do this essential and demanding work every single day. We want to facilitate practical, peer-to-peer shared learning to improve dementia care and reduce the inappropriate use of psychoactive medicines.
The motivation for the Practical Dementia Resources project aligns with the bigger picture in Scotland. The National Dementia Strategy, "Everyone's Story", and its subsequent delivery plan both stress that developing the workforce through partnership is the best path to achieving positive outcomes for people living with dementia. Additionally, Dementia SIGN 168 guidelines (2023) highlight that psychosocial interventions should be the first line of approach.
To find out what the care staff themselves want, we ran an online survey that received 145 responses and held several in-person workshops and interactive sessions with frontline staff from across care homes, day care, and care at home services.
From the responses, staff made it clear that they need resources that are digital, easily accessible, emotionally resonant, and come in the form of practical tools and stories.
To meet these needs, the platform will feature content in a range of formats, making sure the learning is as impactful as possible. It will include short films, podcasts and animations.
For example, we’ll include a podcast clip that acts as a case study of a care home resident who was irritable and upset during personal care. Staff initially tried the usual approaches, but the distress continued. The surprising discovery was that the resident was upset because the care staff were taller than them. Switching to staff of the same or shorter height made all the difference - the resident is now happier, laughing with staff, eating more, and has even seen a reduction in psychoactive medication use.
To be clear, the Practical Dementia Resources project is not a replacement for training; it is designed to be an accessible, additional resource for peer-to-peer learning. The platform, which will be hosted on the NHS Scotland-supported Right Decision Service, is due for a soft launch around spring or summer 2026.
We have also established an advisory group with members including those from various professional groups, people with lived experience, Scottish Care, Scottish Social Services Council, NHS Education for Scotland (NES), and care home and care at home services. The purpose of this group is to provide strategic oversight and identify additional information and learning resources that can be offered to support the staff in accessing the resource.
The feedback so far has been positive. Staff felt listened to and were incredibly grateful for "the opportunity to influence our future and that of the people we support". They believe this shared learning will not only reduce stress and the use of sedative psychoactive medicines but will also positively impact their own lives and those they care for.
We are looking to grow our bank of stories and practical tools. If you are a care professional and you have a practical tool, a great checklist, or a story that really made a difference, please reach out. We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with the team by emailing:
This article first appeared in the winter edition of the Scottish Care Bulletin.