Making Individual Service Funds Work for People With Dementia Living in Care Homes ― How It Works in Practice

Sanderson and Bailey cite that, for dementia patients, being able to choose the way services work for them can be transformational. They focus on Bruce Lodge, a large care home, and spotlight successful outcomes of the Individual Service Fund (ISF) model, which allows residents to make choices and take control of how services support them to live their lives. They describe how the culture at Bruce Lodge changed with the establishment of ISFs for everyone—residents, staff, and volunteers, who came to feel that they were part of a community, where relationships and individuals were put before tasks, there was close monitoring of successes and failures, and the emphasis was on learning to listen. They elucidate how a powerful but flexible framework was created. There are nine chapters: introduction and getting started; plans and processes; starting with staff one-page profiles; individual time; four plus one questions; what next?; night staff, volunteers and faith communities; person-centered reviews and working together for change; and overall impact and lessons learned. Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Helen Sanderson is CEO of Helen Sanderson Associates (HSA) and Director Emeritus of the International Community for Person-Centred Practices. She has been closely involved in the development of person-centred thinking and planning in the UK over the last fifteen years. HSA's partnership with Borough Care Ltd. and Stockport Council was a runner up in the National Dementia Awards 2012 in the innovation category. She is co-author of A Practical Guide to Delivering Personalisation, Creating Person-Centred Organisations and Personalisation in Practice, all published by JKP. Gill Bailey trained initially as a nurse and has worked with a range of providers and commissioning units across adult health and social care for over twenty-five years. In the last ten years her work has focused on supporting people living with dementia. She is a Dementia Care Mapper, and has a diploma in Dementia Studies. She is currently working with providers to introduce Individual Service Funds in residential and homecare services for people living with dementia. Helen and Gill are co-authors of Personalisation and Dementia: A Guide for Person-Centred Practice, also published by JKP. Lisa Martin is manager of Bruce Lodge, a care home in Stockport, part of Borough Care Ltd.