Behaviour Support Service – Home Carer Intervention – Sunderland and South Tyneside

At the beginning of your involvement with the service you will be contacted by the person who will be working with you. This may be a Nurse, an Occupational Therapist or a Psychologist.

The team support family/carers of people whose behaviours have been affected primarily by dementia but also other conditions such as depression or anxiety.

The length of involvement with the team varies, our involvement with you does not change the support the person with dementia receives from their identified Care Co-ordinator. The Care Co-ordinator is responsible for co-ordinating your relatives care that they receive from the community team.

One of the most distressing aspects of dementia is that for some people it can result in behaviours that others find upsetting and stressful. Behaviours that you may find stressful are:
• verbal abuse
• wandering
• eating problems
• aggression
• continence difficulties and difficulties associated with personal care needs

The team aim to do the following:
• Achieve a greater understanding of your relatives behaviour i.e. try to establish why they are behaving (as they are).
• Develop a Care Plan aimed at reducing the difficulties, as it may not be possible to eliminate the difficulties entirely.
• Enhance the quality of life and wellbeing of your relative and you.
• Attempt to treat the behaviours without the use of medication where possible by adopting alternative interventions.

During assessment, the team will collect information about your relative from yourself.

We aim to develop an understanding of your relative’s needs and behaviours through gathering information on:
• The person’s life experiences
• Their personality
• Their mental and physical health

The team member will assist you to understand the person’s needs and develop a Care Plan to better manage behaviours that are considered challenging. For example; shouting may indicate pain, or aggression during personal care interventions may be explained by an inability to understand what is being communicated.

You will be asked to provide information on your relative’s life story including likes, dislikes, personality, home environment etc. This background information is invaluable in developing appropriate interventions, tailored around your relative’s individual needs. All of which will be identified in a Care Plan.

We have a duty to ensure that all information is confidential. We will ensure that it is only shared with others who are involved in providing care for your relative such as a GP.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

• talk to the people directly involved in your care
• ask a member of staff for a feedback form, or complete a form on the Trust website
• telephone the Complaints Department on 0191 245 6672
• email [email protected]. Please note that information sent to the Trust via email is sent at your own risk

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention. You can provide feedback in the following ways:

• the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourvoice
• complete a Your Voice survey, available on wards, reception areas or from staff
• other options for sharing your feedback and experience www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your or your loved ones care.

We act independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary, we can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies.

South of Tyne
Telephone: 0800 328 4397
Text: 07825 061 035
Email: [email protected]
Post: Patient Advice and Liaison Service, Garden Lodge, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0NB

9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday

An answerphone is available at all times for you to leave a message. A member of the PALS team will aim to return your call as soon as possible.

Sunderland (Voiceability)
Telephone: 0300 303 1660 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Email: [email protected]

South Tyneside (Your Voice)
Telephone: 0191 478 6472
Website: www.yvc.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1145 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre on 0191 246 7288.

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2025 Copyright: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Ref: PIC/771/0125 January 2025 V6

Website: www.cntw.nhs.uk
Telephone: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2028