'I need to be me!' : a thematic evaluation of a dementia care facility based on the client perspective

This study is a thematic evaluation of a new purpose-built facility for elderly health service clients with dementia. The four major themes used were drawn from individual interviews with the clients themselves, They were: clients' awareness, their sense of the importance of other people, their sense of loss and bereavement, and their experience of dependence. These themes were then used to interrogate (a) the data from individual interviews with staff, managers and carers involved with the facility, and (b) the observational data of clients' lived experience in the facility gathered using the Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) method. In this way it was possible to determine whether what was significant for clients was (a) recognised and (b) addressed by other service stakeholders. More recent DCM data from a staff consciousness-raising pilot project which resulted from this study were also examined in connection with each theme. The thesis concludes with an analysis of these findings which suggests practical lessons for all those concerned with the care of elderly people with dementia, and points towards a more genuinely 'cost-effective' approach to both organisational and service design, and to care delivery practice. The study is an engaged one, which demonstrates the feasability of accessing the perspective of clients with dementia, and contends that this has radical implications for effective practice, as well as for audit.