Preparing carers for dementia care
Dementia is becoming more prevalent; numbers are approaching one million people in the UK living with dementia, and according to the NHS, once over the age of 65, “the likelihood of developing dementia roughly doubles every five years”. Therefore, more and more people are finding themselves affected by dementia, either directly or by association, and are seeking support for themselves or their loved ones – needing to understand more about how they can best live with the different symptoms caused by dementia.
Our approach to dementia care
We’re dedicated to ensuring everyone gets to live as well as they can with dementia.
At Helping Hands, we’ve been supporting people living with dementia for more than 30 years. We feel we have a responsibility for ensuring our carers are knowledgeable about dementia and the different diseases and causes of it, such as Alzheimer’s, vascular and Lewy Body dementia.
Expert dementia carers
Our extensive dementia carer training ensures that all of our carers can offer bespoke support, unique to each person
Personalised support
We know that no two dementia journeys are the same, so we give every customer a care plan tailored to their own needs
Help for the whole family
A dementia diagnosis can be difficult for the whole family, so we make sure we’re there to support loved ones
Compassionate care
Kindness and compassion are at the heart of all that we do, which is why our customers’ needs always come first
Memory care training and how we do it
Our varied, in-depth training covers a wide range of information and techniques.
All of our private carers undergo dementia awareness and training during their Helping Hands career, from initial instruction when they first join us, to various opportunities for updating their skills through professional development opportunities.
We have an extensive programme of live and virtual coaching that offers both short courses and in-depth instruction for our carers, and any of them who wish to update their knowledge about the causes of dementia and how best to support our customers are encouraged and supported to do so.
I thoroughly enjoyed the dementia training session. I do greatly appreciate all the opportunities that Helping Hands have given me since starting…I am beyond thankful
Sunshine, Carer
A variety of learning options
We offer our carers different learning options to suit each person’s preferred learning style.
When an individual is working with dementia it is vital to keep skills up to date as new developments and updated techniques for support become known. At Helping Hands, we have a range of different learning options for our carers, so that they always best know how to care for their customer living with dementia. This starts with their local care manager, branch team and area colleagues, as well as our team of clinical nurses, all of whom are highly knowledgeable about many of the different forms of dementia, plus our dementia champions and regional assessment teams.
Julia’s story: A dementia champion in the making
Find out how advanced dementia training helped one of our carers, Julia, to provide a more expert service and explore new career opportunities with Helping Hands.
Julia
Sharing our dementia expertise
As a company, we participate widely in activities and events related to spreading knowledge and understanding of dementia and its causes, such as attending the Alzheimer’s Show in London, which we did again this year.
We are also members of the Dementia Action Alliance, which is made up of over 700 organisations committed to transforming the quality of life of people living with dementia in the UK, and the millions who care for them. The Dementia Action Alliance is hosted by the Alzheimer’s Society and works to a programme agreed by the whole membership, people living with dementia and their carers.
Join the dementia home care specialists
If you have the compassion and commitment needed for a carer, we’d love to hear from you.
By joining Helping Hands as a carer, you are not only committing to always delivering the very best care possible, but also beginning on a career path that will see no limit to what you can achieve.
Many of our managers originally joined us as carers, and we work tirelessly to mentor our employees to develop to the fullest of their potential, whenever possible. We even have an in-house academy that helps carers every step of the way to progress within the company, and by keeping our dementia output constantly updated, we are equipping our employees with the skills they need to know how they can make all the difference to their customers’ lives.
We take care of your carer
It takes a special combination of patience, empathy and compassion to be a Helping Hands carer.
That’s why we’re extremely proud of our exceptional people and why we’re trusted by so many families to provide care and companionship to those who need support, across the country.
We make sure we continue to support our people after the join us, so they can deliver at their best for you, the customer. In 2024, we were recognised by the Financial Times as a Top 500 employer.
We directly employ all our carers
Every Helping Hands carer is directly employed by us, meaning everyone receives holiday pay, annual leave and pension contributions.
A supportive culture
We ensure our carers have access to dedicated managers and the help and support they need to carry out their role.
Comprehensive training and ongoing development
Our comprehensive training ensures our carers are fully ready to provide a wide range of support to customers from day one while our professional development programme ensure our carers can continue to develop their skills and access opportunities.
Reward and recognition
Our carer Reward and Recognition Programme – Moments of Kindness – celebrates the impact of small gestures and the actions of carers who go the extra mile to create joy, raise a smile, or offer reassurance or a sense of calm. Winners receive shopping vouchers and are featured in our magazine, Voices.
Our customers appreciate that our carers are:
Kind and empathetic
At Helping Hands, we have a rigorous recruitment process which means we only hire kind, empathetic carers who share our person-centred family values
Directly employed by us
We directly employ all of our palliative carers, so we take full responsibility for managing their workload, maintaining their well-being and paying them
Fully background checked
All of our carers have passed a number of rigorous background checks, including advanced DBS checks, before joining the Helping Hands family
How to start your career as a home carer
With over 155 branches across England and Wales, we’re almost certain to have a care team local to you
Speak to our recruitment team
Talk to our friendly recruitment team today to learn more about joining one of the UK’s foremost private home care company
Arrange an interview
We’ll help with any questions you may have and arrange a convenient time for a face-to-face interview at your local Helping Hands branch
Start your exciting new career
We’ll aim to get you started as soon as possible, if that’s what you want, and will provide you with comprehensive dementia care training