6D Dementia: Embedding Empathy, Consistency and Evidence into Scalable Dementia Care
Parallel 5
18 November, 2026 2:10 – 3:20 pmCultivating Champions: Staff Development and Compassionate Support in Care Homes
Dr Frances Duffy
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
6D-Dementia
Summary
As dementia prevalence rises, health and care services face escalating demand, workforce shortages, and increasing costs. Staff and families often lack a structured framework to recognise and respond effectively to distress and unmet need, contributing to avoidable admissions, inappropriate medication use, and reduced quality of life for people with dementia.
6D Dementia addresses these challenges through digital delivery and an evidence-based approach that places empathy at the centre of care. The CPD-accredited programme equips staff and families with a simple decision-making framework, What’s happening? Why? What to do?, to understand situations from the perspective of the person with dementia and respond with confidence and consistency. Co-designed with people with dementia, families, and frontline staff, the approach ensures relevance to everyday practice.
6D is delivered through three tiers: bite-sized online modules for knowledge and skills at scale; care-planning workshops to apply learning to real cases; and leadership and implementation support to embed sustainable change.
Commissioned at system level through an NHS Integrated Care Board and delivered across 33 organisations and 500 staff, spanning community, inpatient, local authority, and voluntary sector settings, 6D has been implemented across a diverse range of health and care contexts. Early evaluation findings include 94% of staff reporting greater understanding of dementia and 100% reporting increased confidence, with qualitative data indicating shifts in team culture towards shared, empathy-led approaches. An independent health economic model, commissioned by Health Innovation Network KSS, estimates potential savings of £1.33 million per year for a trust serving 4,000 people with dementia if escalation is reduced by just 5%.
This presentation will outline the rationale and design of the approach, describe implementation at system scale, present early evaluation findings, and share learning from cross-sector adoption.