Cognitive Impairment Care Plans
What is a Cognitive Impairment Care Plan?
Mild Cognitive Impairment or MCI “is when a person starts to have problems with their memory or thinking. It can be a sign of a disease that will eventually cause dementia but MCI is not dementia and can be caused by other health problems,” says the Alzheimer’s Society. While many people will experience MCI during their lifetime, perhaps because of ageing or the side effects of a medication or illness, unlike dementia, it isn’t necessarily going to get worse or lead to a loss of independence. However, like all conditions that affect ability, it’s sensible to think about future care needs and that’s where planning comes in. Dementia UK supports this notion too. “When you are thinking about your future care, it is important to discuss your wishes with family, friends and health and social care professionals and make a record of what you would like to happen. You can do this by making an Advance Care Plan.”
Cognitive Impairment Care Plan Example
A care plan for cognitive impairment should include as much detail as possible about you and your everyday routines. It will contain your preferences, wishes, beliefs and details about people who are important to you. It will also contain information such as:
Whether someone else has Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
Your wishes for ongoing treatment and end-of-life
Whether you have a will and where it is kept
Who else has been involved in your care plan
Important contacts, such as GP or Admiral Nurse
When your plan should be reviewed
Why Should I Have a Care Plan?
Having a care plan in place doesn’t mean that your condition is going to deteriorate or that you’re not going to live much longer. All it means us that, should your condition get worse to the point that you are no longer able to take care of yourself or make your own decisions, your wishes and preferences will be respected and carried out. It’s a safeguard for the future in effect, meaning that if the unforeseen did happen, you had made provision for your care and you would be supported exactly as you wished. Dementia UK also advises that an Advance Decision could be made as part of your care plan, meaning you can decide what treatment you would or wouldn’t wish to have if your condition deteriorated. Our care plans could also include cognition care plans or cognition nursing care plans for people who have complex needs. These could include:
Ventilation (breathing support if you cannot breathe by yourself)
Treatment of infections with antibiotics
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
What Does an Effective Care Plan for a Cognitive Impairment Customer Include?
When a person is living with cognitive impairment and they would like to have support at home, it’s important that their own and their caregiver’s needs are detailed in their care plan. The person and their loved ones will need to know that the carer has the necessary skills and experience to fully support them, as well as knowing that all of their needs will be met appropriately. This could include whether the person needs support with medication, personal care, and mealtimes so that they get adequate nutrition and hydration. Despite MCI not being dementia and not a guarantee that dementia will develop, the person may end up needing additional support in time and may need help from medical professionals to investigate further.
How Can I Create My Own Care Plan?
By producing your care plan in conjunction with healthcare professionals, you can guarantee that all of your needs will be taken into account. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) explains that to ensure a care plan is person-centred, it should be “developed with the person. The conversation is led by the person who knows best about their needs and preferences.” All of your needs should be taken into account when your care plan is produced and the only way to ensure that everyone who should know about your preferences does so is to produce the plan in collaboration with your wider healthcare team. Keeping you at the centre of the care planning process is crucial, and every private care company, local authority and care agency should commit to producing person-centred care plans with the customers. We certainly only deliver the highest quality person-centred care at Helping Hands.
How Helping Hands Can Help
Person-centred care planning is all we know at Helping Hands because we’ve been delivering the highest quality visiting and live-in care since we were established in 1989. We have decades of experience helping people to live as well as possible with their conditions, whether that’s physical help or emotional support. We are dementia specialists, supporting people who are living with MCI or who have been fully diagnosed with dementia. We understand cognitive impairment as we’ve supported so many people living with it, and we know the effect it can have on our customers and their families. We empathetically help you to enjoy your days and make the most of every experience, whether that’s in your home or outside of it.
Fully Regulated By The CQC / CIW
We pride ourselves on being fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission and Care Inspectorate Wales at Helping Hands. We only deliver the very best care, and each of our 150 branches across England and Wales is dedicated to providing exceptional support to all of their customers. We don’t sell franchises at Helping Hands – we own and manage all of our branches ourselves, which guarantees that we maintain consistently high standards across our entire network. Not all care providers are regulated by the CQC, so it’s important to select one that is, before agreeing to them coming into your home. Because we are consistently rated highly by the CQC and we’re fully regulated for both physical and personal care, we are the only home care company that you should consider for cognitive impairment care.
