The current system cannot consistently deliver the care people living with dementia want, need and deserve. People living with dementia make up around 60% of those who draw on home care in the UK and 70% of people living in residential care homes in England. Yet, most people living with dementia do not have access to the care and support they need, with more than 400,000 currently on adult social care waiting lists and no existing standard for dementia training across the UK.
Dementia training is important to ensure every person living with dementia receives personalised care and support that meets their needs and recognises the complexity of the condition. But this is currently not being delivered. A 2022 inquiry by a cross-party group of MPs found that less than half (44%) of people living with dementia rated care staff’s understanding of dementia positively. Sadly, the picture remains similar today.
A recent Alzheimer’s Society survey into people’s experiences with dementia found that less than four in 10 are satisfied with the support available for people living with dementia and, when asked what would best help to improve the lives of people living with dementia, 65% of people said more care workers who are skilled in caring for people living with dementia.
While shocking, these statistics are perhaps unsurprising when coupled with our finding that only 45% of care staff are recorded as having any kind of dementia training. The devastating impact of this is felt beyond the statistics; I regularly speak to people who have experienced care that is not up to par, often due to a lack of training or knowledge around the complexities of dementia care.
Things need to change, and I am hopeful that they will. I was delighted to be involved in Skills for Care’s recent A Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care in England, a sector-wide collaboration which recommended that all social care staff should have mandatory dementia training aligned with the Dementia Training Standard Framework. This is a necessary step towards building a sustainable future workforce. All stakeholders playing a role in improving social care must take the strategy’s recommendations forward, including Government, local authorities, integrated care systems and care providers.
We cannot afford to ignore this any longer, with dementia prevalence predicted to rise by 45% by 2040 (from 982,000 today to 1.4 million people). Improving social care specifically for people living with dementia means training the workforce so it is equipped with the skills and understanding to meet the specialist needs associated with the condition. High-quality dementia training for all care staff, mapped to the Dementia Training Standards Framework or equivalent, must be an integral part of the workforce.
Our workforce is invaluable to all those who draw on care and support, proving its unwavering dedication in the most challenging circumstances. Having the right support and training to deliver personalised care makes a huge difference to both carers and people living with dementia who rely on support, allowing care to be much more than a transaction.
Our message is clear – make dementia the priority it needs to be, implement the new workforce strategy and introduce mandatory dementia training for the care workforce. This must be underpinned by long-term, targeted and sustained investment to achieve real impact and enable people living with dementia to make the most of life at every stage of the condition.
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Dara de Burca is a registered social worker and Executive Director of Dementia Support and Partnerships at Alzheimer’s Society.
Email: [email protected] X: @Dara_deBurca