Collaborative communication across services

INTRODUCTION TO MODULE 4: 

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATION ACROSS SERVICES

Meaningful dementia care planning depends on more than having good conversations with individual people and families. It also depends on how well practitioners, teams and services communicate with one another.

People with dementia and carers often tell us that they have to repeat the same information to different professionals, are unsure who to contact when they need support, or do not know who is responsible for coordinating care. Practitioners can face similar challenges, including unclear roles, fragmented services, limited access to information and difficulties sharing responsibility across organisations.

This module focuses on collaborative communication across services. It encourages practitioners and teams to look beyond individual conversations and consider how communication, information sharing and multidisciplinary working can support more joined-up, person-centred care planning.

The resources in this module are based on findings from dementia research. They highlight common barriers to collaborative working, as well as practical ways teams can strengthen communication, clarify roles and improve coordination across services.

The resources have been numbered as a suggested learning pathway, but they can also be used individually depending on your role, team and learning needs.

This module contains:

1. Collaborative communication for shared dementia care planning: illustrated infographic

A professionally illustrated infographic based on research findings. It brings together the perspectives of people with dementia, carers and practitioners to explore what happens when communication is fragmented and what helps communication work well. Topics include role clarity, information sharing, care coordination, multidisciplinary working, non-clinical roles and shared care planning.

2. One Stop Shop approach to dementia reviews

A poster developed through the PriDem study that demonstrates how dementia reviews and care planning can be organised in a more coordinated and joined-up way. It provides an example of how services can work together to reduce duplication, improve communication and make it easier for people with dementia and carers to access support.

3. Multidisciplinary team (MDT) reflection tool

A practical discussion tool designed for teams. It supports reflection on who is having dementia care planning conversations, how information is shared, where gaps or duplication may occur, and what small changes could improve communication and coordination across services.

4. Making your role visible: prompt sheet for non-clinical practitioners

A reflective resource designed to help social prescribers, care coordinators, dementia advisers and other non-clinical practitioners think about how their contributions are recognised within wider systems and multidisciplinary working. It includes prompts to support conversations with colleagues, managers and teams about joined-up working, communication and shared care planning.

This module encourages teams to reflect on questions such as:

• Do people with dementia and carers know who to contact when they need support?
• Are different practitioners clear about one another’s roles and responsibilities?
• Is important information shared effectively across services?
• Are people having to repeat the same information multiple times?
• How are non-clinical practitioners contributing to care planning conversations?
• What small changes could help communication feel more joined up?

Improving collaborative communication is not solely the responsibility of individual practitioners. It also depends on how teams, organisations and systems work together. The resources in this module are designed to support reflection, discussion and practical action to help create more coordinated, person-centred dementia care planning.