Reducing stress and distress improvement programme update: March 2026

Progress update March 2026

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Improvement programme

The programme aims to ensure people living with dementia have improved experience of and access to person-centred approaches to prevent and support stress and distress in hospital and care home settings.

The programme is jointly delivered by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Care Inspectorate and NHS Education for Scotland. In 2026 we are working with 51 care home and hospital teams.

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What we do

• Work with hospital and care home teams across Scotland.
• Deliver a quality improvement programme that supports teams through online group learning and one-to-one coaching sessions.
• Capture evidence and learning to enable spread.
• Work in partnership with a range of national partners and lived experience networks.  

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Programme delivery update 2025

• We worked with 54 hospital and care home teams over the year. 100% of teams completed their Self-Evaluation tool and identified improvement priorities.
• A series of online collaborative sessions were delivered to support ongoing learning. Topics covered included Namaste care, role of Allied Health Professionals, development of meaningful activities, the impact of noise in care settings.
• Teams reported impact in several ways: reduction of when necessary antipsychotic medication, reduction in falls, reduction in incidence of stress and distress, positive experience of people living with dementia, families and unpaid carers.

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Examples of impact so far

Early identification of pain to reduce stress and distress

One hospital team introduced the Abbey Pain Scale (APS) to identify patients who were experiencing pain but unable to self-report. The APS was completed during admission to enable early identification and management of pain to prevent and reduce stress and distress.

Impact:

• At 6 weeks of testing, 100% of patients requiring APS have it completed within 48 hours of admission and appropriate pain medication provided.
• Reduction in levels of stress and distress seen through reduction of anti-psychotic medication administered.
• APS is now embedded in care plan ensuring sustainability of change.