Making Individual Service Funds Work for People with Dementia Living in Care Homes: How it Works in Practice

Individual Service Funds (ISFs) offers service users the opportunity to get the support they want and need, when they want it, in a way that works for them, but until now there has been much confusion about how they can work for people with dementia living in care homes. Describing a two-year pilot carried out in Bruce Lodge care home in Stockport, this book demonstrates very clearly what works and what doesn't, and how to deal with difficulties and setbacks. The authors describe clearly how they went about introducing ISFs to the care home, including the simple person-centred planning tools used, the involvement of various stakeholders, and through case examples offer clear evidence of the dramatic improvements to quality of life the approach can deliver. There is a strong focus on managerial and organisational issues, including how to get staff 'on board', how to provide adequate support, how to budget, how to build effective partnerships and how to implement whole company change. This is essential reading for all those inviolved in providing residential care for people with dementia, including senior care staff, care home managers, local authority commissioners, service providers and policy makers.

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 25 years, and in the last ten 10 years this has focussed on supporting people living with dementia. She is a Dementia Care Mapper, has a diploma in Dementia Studies. She is currently working with providers to introduce person-centred practices in residential and homecare services for people living with dementia.

Helen Sanderson is CEO of Helen Sanderson Associates 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 15 years, and has written extensively on person-centred thinking, planning, community building and Individual Service Funds. HSA were runners up with Borough Care in the National Dementia Awards 2012 in the innovation category.