Behavioural formulation
Developing working hypotheses about the factors that may be contributing to and maintaining dementia-related distress, risk or repeated incidents.
About Keith Hallard
Specialist dementia behaviour support, grounded in real clinical practice.
First Response Dementia Services is led by Keith Hallard, a Registered Mental Health Nurse with specialist experience in dementia, older adult mental health, behavioural formulation and practical care planning.
RNMH · BNurs(Hons) · PGCert
Registered Mental Health Nurse
Independent Nurse Prescriber
Registered Mental Health Nurse
Independent Nurse Prescriber
Founder
Keith Hallard
Keith has worked in health and social care since 2008, and qualified as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in 2019. His background spans care homes, domiciliary care, learning disability services, mental health services, inpatient and community mental health, older adult dementia services and forensic settings.
Keith has additional postgraduate clinical training, including an Independent Prescribing qualification. First Response Dementia Services does not provide a private prescribing service, but this qualification is relevant because many complex dementia presentations involve psychotropic medication, antipsychotic review, medication-related risk and wider clinical decision-making.
His work focuses on helping care providers move beyond incident-by-incident responses and develop a clearer understanding of what may be contributing to distress, agitation, aggression, disinhibition, resistive care or placement instability.
That breadth matters. The advice given through First Response Dementia Services is based on what is realistic on shift, not just what sounds good in a textbook.
Service scope: First Response Dementia Services does not provide emergency response, direct treatment, diagnosis, or private prescribing to individual residents. Medication-related content is educational and supports discussion, review and escalation with the resident’s usual accountable clinicians.
- Dementia care and complex behaviour support
- Behavioural formulation and person-centred care planning
- Understanding patterns, triggers and maintaining factors
- Staff guidance that translates into day-to-day practice
- Clearer documentation, safer responses, stronger team confidence
Specialist interests
Focused expertise for complex dementia care
First Response Dementia Services is built around the areas where care providers most often need clearer thinking, stronger documentation and practical staff guidance.
BPSD and complex behaviour
Supporting care providers with agitation, aggression, disinhibition, distress during personal care, exit seeking and other high-pressure presentations.
Medication, risk and review
Using independent prescribing training to inform safer discussion around psychotropic medication, antipsychotic review, PRN use, risk and escalation, without offering private prescribing.
Capacity and best interests
Helping teams think clearly about decision-specific capacity, best interests, least restriction, safeguarding and documentation in complex dementia care.
Care planning that works
Turning formulation into clear, practical guidance that staff can use consistently during personal care, distressed episodes and high-risk situations.
Staff confidence
Helping teams move from reactive firefighting to shared understanding, consistent language and more confident day-to-day responses.
Why this exists
Focused review, not generic consultancy
This isn't broad management consultancy, and it isn't generic training dressed up as specialist input. It's focused behavioural review, formulation, planning and staff-facing guidance for cases where the home feels stuck.
The model is virtual-first, which keeps it quicker, leaner and more accessible, providers get specialist support without waiting on a heavier consultancy process.
- Built around complex dementia-related behaviour
- Grounded in formulation, unmet need and practical response planning
- Designed for managers and staff, not just a report for a file
- Flexible enough to extend into training and wider practice improvement
Who it's for
Residential and nursing providers supporting people with dementia
Especially where there's distress, risk, repeated incidents, inconsistent staff responses, or pressure building around quality and care planning.
Managers needing direction
For managers who need a specialist review that's quicker and more focused than a full external consultancy package.
Teams lacking confidence
For homes with plenty of incident detail, but little confidence about the pattern, the meaning, or the right response.
Services wanting practical outcomes
For providers who want more than a slide deck, and need support that improves real care on the floor.
Service boundaries
First Response Dementia Services does not provide emergency response, direct clinical treatment, diagnosis, or private prescribing to individual residents. Clinical responsibility remains with the provider and relevant healthcare professionals at all times.