An image of Jayne Connery with long blonde hair wearing a bright red blazer sits at a glass table with a laptop open in front of her. She is smiling toward the camera in a modern, well-lit office setting with vertical blinds behind her. A phone and papers are placed on the table nearby

Speaker spotlight: Safe Freedom - Rethinking Risk in Dementia Care

By Jayne Connery, Founder of Care Campaign for the Vulnerable

One of the most complex challenges in dementia care is finding the balance between keeping people safe and allowing them to continue living meaningful lives.

Through the work of Care Campaign for the Vulnerable (CCFTV), we regularly speak with families, care staff and providers across the country. Many of these conversations centre around a very real tension within care settings: the responsibility to protect residents from harm while also preserving their dignity, independence and identity.

Too often, risk in care becomes something to eliminate entirely. Yet living a full life has always involved some degree of risk. And that reality does not suddenly disappear when someone moves into a care home.

For many families, the decision to place a loved one into residential care is one of the most difficult decisions they will ever make. They are not simply looking for safety; they are looking for reassurance that the person they love will continue to live with purpose, connection and moments of joy.

In dementia care particularly, this balance becomes even more important. Residents may still want to walk in the garden, enjoy time outdoors, visit a local café, or simply move freely within their home. These are ordinary moments, yet they hold enormous meaning.

At CCFTV, we often describe this balance as “safe freedom.”

Safe freedom

Safe freedom recognises that while safety must always remain a priority, overprotection can unintentionally remove the very things that make life worth living. When care becomes overly restrictive, residents can lose confidence, independence and sometimes even aspects of their personality.

This does not mean ignoring risk; care providers have significant responsibilities to protect residents, support staff and meet regulatory expectations. But within those responsibilities there is space for thoughtful, person-centred decision making.

Culture and leadership within a care home play a vital role here.

Homes that encourage positive risk-taking often create environments where residents feel respected as individuals rather than simply being managed as risks. Staff feel empowered to support independence while still ensuring safeguards are in place.

For example, a resident living with dementia may wish to continue walking regularly. Rather than preventing this entirely because of the risk of falls, the care team might instead consider how the activity can be supported safely. This might include supervision, environmental adjustments, or technology that offers reassurance without restricting freedom.

The aim is not to remove the activity, but to enable it safely.

Enabling people to live well, not simply exist

Families frequently tell us that these decisions matter deeply. Seeing a loved one encouraged to remain active, to enjoy familiar routines and to stay connected with the world around them provides reassurance that they are still being recognised as the person they have always been.

Open dialogue between families and providers is essential in achieving this balance. When families feel included in conversations about independence and risk, trust grows. Transparency allows everyone to work together with a shared understanding of what is best for the resident.

The care sector continues to face enormous pressures, from workforce challenges to increasing complexity of residents’ needs. In such circumstances it can sometimes feel safer to adopt restrictive approaches. Yet the most forward-thinking care environments are those that recognise the importance of enabling residents to live well, not simply exist safely.

This is why conversations about independence, dignity and risk must remain central to how we think about care.

Care & Dementia talk

I will be exploring this theme further when I attend and speak at the Care & Dementia show this March at the NEC in Birmingham. It is an opportunity to bring together professionals, providers, families and advocates to reflect on how the sector can continue evolving in a way that places residents firmly at the centre of every decision.

Because ultimately, dementia care is not only about managing risk. It is about enabling people to continue living meaningful lives.

Supporting safe freedom means recognising that safety and independence are not opposing ideas. With compassionate leadership, engaged care teams and open collaboration across the sector, we can protect residents while still preserving the dignity, autonomy and humanity that every person deserves.

Jayne Connery is the Founder of CCFTV, a national organisation advocating for transparency, safety and dignity in care.

She will be join a panel discussion on ‘Practical Safety in Care’ in Care & Dementia’s Care Keynote theatre on March 25 at 3.45pm.