In this feature
- A developing framework is a reason to listen closely
- Begin with preferences that influence the routine
- A strategy needs a team able to carry it out
- Use a concern to widen the enquiry
- Return to the person, rather than the plan alone
A developing framework is a reason to listen closely
CQC has been developing guidance on good dementia care, with a formal consultation planned for early 2027. The initial feedback deadline of 30 October has passed. That work should not be confused with a new rule already in force or a new NICE guideline. [11]
NICE NG97 remains a published reference for dementia assessment, management and support. Its overview records a review in October 2025 without an update to recommendations. Leaders should identify which source they are using and distinguish a current recommendation from a developing proposal. [12]
Our earlier dementia feature follows that development. This programme turns to the practical question that can be explored now: how well does the service understand the person’s day?
Begin with preferences that influence the routine
A care plan can contain personal history while the day still follows an institutional pattern. Knowing someone’s former occupation is useful when it helps staff understand their interests, habits or preferred relationships. The information needs to influence what happens.
Ask how the person communicates enjoyment, fatigue, discomfort or a wish for privacy. Consider the timing of personal care, opportunities for meaningful occupation, access to familiar people and the environment around important routines. Their preferences may change and need to be revisited.
Family and staff knowledge can help, while remaining distinct from the person’s own view. Communication support and repeated observation may be needed to understand that view. Make time to hear from people who communicate less directly or need additional support.
A strategy needs a team able to carry it out
Novaspec describes dementia strategy as work shaped around the people supported, their environment and the team’s skills. Its brochure connects training and encouragement with the daily environment that staff create. [1]
That makes the service’s starting picture important. Which routines already work well? Where do staff feel uncertain? What is causing distress or limiting choice? A strategy should help the team investigate those questions and agree changes it can sustain.
The brochure includes an account from Carley’s work in a dementia service, involving prescribing review and non-drug approaches. The brochure’s examples cover Novaspec work and earlier leadership roles. Medication reviews and treatment decisions need the appropriate clinical oversight. [1]
Use a concern to widen the enquiry
NICE’s quality standard on distress supports examining possible causes and responding to the individual. Pain, communication, environmental conditions and other factors may need appropriate assessment. Staff should have a route to clinical support rather than treating every sign of distress as a behaviour to manage. [13]
Care Circle’s suggested starting point is a routine that the person finds difficult. Review what happens before, during and after it, with the person and those involved in their support. Look for a change that is proportionate, appropriate and within the team’s competence.
If the team changes the timing, communication or environment, agree how it will learn whether the change helps. Record concerns as well as positive responses. A reduction in recorded incidents alone may miss whether the person has become more withdrawn or has less opportunity to express a choice.
Return to the person, rather than the plan alone
Our continuing young-onset dementia coverage asks whether a service fits the individual. That question applies across dementia care. People should not have to fit a routine simply because it is familiar to the organisation.
Novaspec’s continued-support model gives providers a way to ask about implementation and review. Who will help staff understand the changes? How will managers hear what the person and family experience? What should be revisited when a response does not help? [1]
A useful strategy should make those questions easier to answer on an ordinary day. That is the practical connection between governance, staff confidence and care that feels personal.
Your practical next step
Review one meaningful part of a person’s day
Choose a routine with the person and those supporting them. Examine preferences, communication, practical obstacles and how an agreed change will be reviewed.
- What matters to the person in this part of their day?
- What support do staff need to respond well?
- What would show that the change is helping or needs revisiting?
The continuing Care Circle conversation
Read the fuller background.
Earlier reporting keeps its publication dates. These connections show where the new features develop the practical questions.
19 October; updated 5 November 2026
Before the next dementia guidance: can the care plan explain the person’s day?
The earlier feedback deadline has passed. Continue into individual routines, communication and staff support.
27 October 2026
Young-onset dementia: when an all-age service does not fit the person
Ask how tailored support changes the day, the environment and the learning staff need.
Evidence you can follow
Sources and attribution
Reviewed 8 November 2026. Official regulation and assessment context concerns England unless stated. Novaspec’s experience and working approach come from its supplied brochure. The suggested review methods are Care Circle’s editorial analysis.
- 11
Developing guidance on good dementia care
The early feedback deadline was 30 October. A formal consultation is planned for early 2027; this is developing guidance, not a new rule already in force.
- 12
Dementia: assessment, management and support (NG97)
The overview records no recommendation update following its 2025 review. Do not confuse this published guideline with CQC’s separate guidance-development work.
- 13
Dementia quality statement: managing distress
Supports assessment of causes and individual responses. Treatment and prescribing decisions remain with the appropriate clinicians.
- 01
Novaspec: 2026 company brochure
Company-supplied description of its people, experience, services and working approach. Case accounts are provider statements and include earlier leadership roles; they are not independent evaluations.
Your service / Your next conversation
Start with what you need to understand.
Tell Novaspec about your service, its priorities and the support already in place. Ask how the team would get to know you, agree the work and stay involved as it develops.