Brunelcare Launch New Dementia Coaching Initiative

Brunelcare, a Bristol-based charity providing housing and care for over 80-years, has announced the launch of its new Dementia Coaching Initiative, where colleagues at the charity can become certified Dementia Care Coaches. 

Colleagues at Brunelcare have been taking part in an exciting learning and development initiative designed to enable people working in care settings to deliver the best possible, personalised outcomes for people living with dementia.

Significantly improving quality of life, opportunities and engagement, the FITS, (Focussed Intervention Training and Support) into Practice Programme was developed by the Association for Dementia Studies at Worcester University following extensive research. 

Stuart Wright, Dementia Care Lead at Brunelcare, has delivered the programme to colleagues and supported them through the pilot FITS programme. Nine colleagues took part in the programme, where over nine months, the participants completed ten successful training days. 

Stuart has worked at Brunelcare for nearly 20 years and specialises in Dementia Care. He has developed and implemented the Human Rights Framework and Standard for people living with dementia, and turned his passion into his career. He now works full time at Brunelcare delivering state-of-the-art Dementia Coaching Sessions to Brunelcare colleagues and external audiences and supporting the various teams across Brunelcare. 

FITS Participants said: “The FITS training has been very in depth, fun, interactive, emotional and very rewarding. Having nearly completed the FITS training, I now feel more confident to cascade the knowledge I have gained to my colleagues and promote a better understanding of dementia care.”

 Stuart Wright, Dementia Care Lead at Brunelcare, said: “There is a growing body of evidence that shows people working in care learn best from each other, rather than purely from classroom-based education. The role of the Dementia Coach is to deliver “on the job” learning and development that immediately has an impact on the quality of care and life for residents. This way of working also raises the skill, competence and confidence of those providing care and support."

About the FITS Programme

FITS uses evidence-based resources to support practice in a very hands-on way. The FITS into Practice programme is taught by Dementia Practice Development Coaches (DPDC), who have completed the masters level academic module at the Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester. FITS into practice is an evidence-based training and support programme developed and evaluated in successive UK-wide research projects and is shown to provide positive outcomes for colleagues, residents and care homes.

To learn more about the work of Brunelcare, visit: www.brunelcare.org.uk