practical living
Dementia training success
New dementia training targets
doctors and practice nurses.
Allyson Warrington interviewed
by Dallas Bastian
G
eneral practitioners and practice nurses now have access
to a tailored dementia care training program that aims to
reduce stigma and help empower people with dementia,
their families and carers.
Through the Dementia Care Training and Education Program –
pioneered by General Practice Training Tasmania – local doctors
and practice nurses will be better equipped to recognise dementia
symptoms and provide better support for those living with
dementia and their loved ones, Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt
said at its launch.
Wyatt added that while general dementia literacy among health
professionals is alarmingly low, the program has already brought
about promising changes in the clinical behaviour of health
professionals.
“This augurs well for the potential national rollout of this
online resource, for example, through inclusion in the suite of
materials hosted by Dementia Training Australia,” he said.
Allyson Warrington, chief executive of General Practice Training
Tasmania, said the changes in health professionals’ behaviour
have resulted from improved awareness, knowledge and
confidence in dementia care.
20 agedcareinsite.com.au
Warrington explained that these professionals can provide more
certainty and assistance to people with dementia, families and
carers in the early stages of the disease.
“This is really important in rural and remote communities,
where there can be long waiting times for appointments with
other specialists,” she said.
Aged Care Insite spoke with Warrington to find out more about
the training program and its early evaluation.
ACI: In the aged care sector in particular, the importance of
improving knowledge of dementia among those working
in general practice is often raised when discussing ways
to improve support for people with dementia. What was
the impetus for General Practice Training Tasmania to be
involved in this sort of program?
AW: We recognised that this was an area of need. The number of
people with dementia is growing rapidly, and there are very few
Australian families that are unaffected by dementia. And I’m sure
as you talk to people, that becomes very clear.
So, with the increasing demand, particularly with the dementia
patient load and aged care services being stretched, the
management of these groups of people will fall to GPs and the
extended primary care team.
That was the impetus. That’s why we decided that this would be
our focus.
What does the training program involve for doctors and
practice nurses?
The resource is an active online resource, and it works through
four component modules. The first is recognising dementia in
general practice. The second is diagnosing dementia in general