Reading List

A curated Reading List to support and extend learning from Communication and Person-Led Dementia Care for Residential Care Staff.

This course takes a UK-wide practical approach to dementia communication and person-led care. Some source material is England or Great Britain focused, while Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have their own dementia practice, social care, capacity, and regulatory frameworks. Use these sources alongside your local policy and national guidance.

1. Core Dementia Communication and Care Guidance

• NHS - Communicating with someone with dementia
  A practical official guide on speaking clearly, giving time to respond, using body language well, listening properly, and reducing environmental distraction. Especially useful for day-to-day residential care practice.
  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/living-with-dementia/communication/

• NICE - Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers (NG97)
  The main current NICE guideline covering person-centred support, care planning, staff training, and the wider framework for good dementia care across health and social care services.
  https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng97

• Skills for Care - Dementia Training Standards Framework
  A current framework showing the breadth of dementia learning expected across the workforce, including communication, person-centred care, equality, safeguarding, and end of life dementia care.
  https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/resources/documents/Developing-your-workforce/Other-standards-and-frameworks/Dementia-Training-Standards-Framework.pdf

2. Distress, Behaviour Change, and Quality of Care

• NHS - Coping with dementia behaviour changes
  A useful official guide to understanding behaviour change as possible communication and looking for triggers such as pain, infection, constipation, environment, and anxiety.
  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/living-with-dementia/behaviour/

• CQC - Good practice in caring for people with dementia
  A CQC review highlighting what improves the experience of care for people with dementia, including communication, homelike settings, cultural understanding, and preserving trust and belonging.
  https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/external-reports-research/good-practice-caring-dementia

• CQC - People with dementia
  A current CQC State of Care focus page showing wider system pressures, staffing issues, safeguarding concerns, and quality risks affecting people with dementia in care settings.
  https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/major-report/state-care/2024-2025/focus/dementia

3. Wider Workforce and Practice Support

• Skills for Care - Other standards and frameworks
  This page signposts the updated dementia framework and related capability frameworks that may support more advanced training after this course.
  https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Developing-your-workforce/Other-standards-and-frameworks.aspx

• NHS - Living well with dementia
  A broader official source on maintaining wellbeing, independence, and everyday quality of life, useful for keeping communication work connected to the wider goal of living well.
  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/living-with-dementia/living-well/

4. Four-Nations Signposting

• Social Care Wales - What matters conversation guide for someone with dementia
  A Wales-facing guide on finding out what matters to a person with dementia, involving their support network in the right way, communicating respectfully, and recording what helps.
  https://socialcare.wales/resources-guidance/improving-care-and-support/strengths-based-practice/strengths-based-practice-resources/guide-how-to-have-a-what-matters-conversation-with-someone-with-dementia

• Social Care Wales - People with dementia
  A Wales-facing collection of dementia resources, including training and practice support for people working with people living with dementia.
  https://socialcare.wales/resources-guidance/improving-care-and-support/people-with-dementia

• Scottish Government - Promoting Excellence dementia framework
  Scotland's NES/SSSC skills and knowledge framework for health and social services staff working with people with dementia, their families, and carers.
  https://www.gov.scot/publications/promoting-excellence-framework-health-social-services-staff-working-people-dementia-families-carers/

• HSCNI - Dementia Learning and Development Framework
  A Northern Ireland framework for the skills health and social care staff need to respond sensitively to people living with dementia, their families, and carers.
  https://online.hscni.net/our-work/social-care-and-children/dementia/learning-development-framework/

• Law Wales - Key legislation (social care)
  A helpful Wales-facing page showing the wider social care legal context, including the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Welsh social care legislation.
  https://law.gov.wales/key-legislation-social-care

• gov.scot - Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 code materials
  A Scotland-facing starting point for incapacity-related decision-making where communication and participation need to be supported under a different legal framework.
  https://www.gov.scot/publications/adults-incapacity-scotland-act-2000-code-practice-local-authorities-exercising-functions-under-2000-act/

• Department of Health Northern Ireland - Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice and other key documents
  A Northern Ireland entry point for capacity-related legal and practice material, relevant where communication, refusal, and best interests decisions arise in care settings.
  https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/mental-capacity-act-code-practice-and-other-key-documents

Use this Reading List to build stronger dementia communication practice, understand person-led care more deeply, and connect everyday interactions with wider care quality and legal context.