Care Home Staff ‘Should Specialise In Dementia’

All care home staff should be given mandatory training in dealing with dementia, the Alzheimer’s Society has urged, following a new study.

A poll of 3,500 people involved in care homes, including residents, families and staff found that more specialist knowledge and training regarding dementia was required to ensure a high quality of care in all institutions.

Over half of people with a relative in a residential care home believe that more things should be provided for people with dementia to do each day and it was found that people with dementia in a care home spend two minutes every six hours socially interacting with others.

Alzheimer’s Society chief executive Neil Hunt commented: “Hundreds of thousands of people with dementia are living in residential care and yet the majority of staff do not have adequate training.”

“Care homes must operate as specialist care providers with dementia training a mandatory requirement for all staff,” he said.

“Dementia training ensures care staff understand the reality of the condition as well as the positive impact they can have on people living with a diagnosis and their carers.”

Nearly a quarter of a million people live with dementia in residential care and two-thirds of care home residents have some form of dementia.

Counsel and Care is also supporting the Alzheimer’s Society’s campaign for specialist dementia training and is calling for more government funding to improve social activities in care homes and provide more training for care home staff.