Behaviours that Challenge - Comprehensive Audit Suite with Templates
This comprehensive audit and self-evaluation suite supports managers, quality leads and external consultants to systematically assess the quality and safety of approaches to managing behaviours which challenge in complex care settings. Developed by Mac Research & Consultancy Limited, it combines an evidence-based eight-section audit framework with ten practice templates and reference appendices — all in one document.
The audit covers: behavioural assessment, person-centred planning, proactive and reactive strategies, post-incident learning, staff training, governance, and multi-agency working. Every criterion includes detailed guidance on what to look for, italicised prompts for auditors, and clear links to legislation across both Scotland and England. Appendices include a Functional Behaviour Assessment form, Behaviour Support Plan template, individual and staff post-incident debrief forms, a Restrictive Practice Register, PRN medication protocol, legislation quick-reference card, communication passport, root cause analysis form, and staff training matrix.
Designed for use in residential, nursing, supported living and specialist care environments, this tool supports services to reduce restrictive practices, demonstrate regulatory compliance, and embed rights-based, trauma-informed practice.
Behaviour is communication. When a person living with dementia becomes agitated, distressed, or difficult to support during care, they are not being difficult — they are telling us something is wrong. Expressions of Unmet Need: Understanding Behaviour as Communication in Dementia Care is a comprehensive, seven-module training resource developed by Mac Research & Consultancy Limited to equip care staff, managers, nurses, allied health professionals, and family carers with the evidence, tools, and practical skills to hear that message and respond with confidence and compassion.
Up to 90% of people living with dementia will at some point express unmet needs through changes in their behaviour, and these expressions — agitation, vocal distress, sleep disturbance, disinhibition, altered perceptions — are the leading cause of caregiver burnout and care home placement. Yet the research is clear: it is not the behaviour itself that determines staff distress, but how staff perceive and appraise it. By shifting that appraisal — from threat to communication, from helplessness to competence — this programme reduces distress for staff and improves outcomes for the people they support, without waiting for the behaviour to change first.
The seven modules move from foundations through to sustainability, covering the stress process model and behavioural expression clusters, temporal patterns and just-in-time interventions including sundowning, systematic pain assessment and treatment protocols using the MOBID-2 scale, trauma-informed and person-centred communication strategies, family support through care transitions using the Relatives of Care Transition Model, community and respite approaches including Adult Day Services, and organisational culture change with fidelity tools for lasting implementation. Each module includes evidence summaries, real-world case scenarios, group activities, and reflective practice questions, and the resource includes a 24-hour behavioural risk mapping template, a pain assessment quick reference, and a monthly protocol compliance checklist ready for immediate use in practice.
The programme is grounded in peer-reviewed research and aligned with NICE NG97, the Scottish Promoting Excellence Framework, Care Inspectorate quality frameworks, and SSSC standards. It can be delivered as a full two to three day programme, as targeted standalone sessions, or through a train-the-trainer model for multi-site providers. To commission this training for your team, contact Mac Research & Consultancy Limited at arlene@macresearchandconsultancy.co.ukor visit www.macresearchandconsultancy.co.uk.
