Social Care Workforce Not Ready To Deliver Dementia Care - MPs

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, here is an article of interest in MedicalNews Today

A report published revealed the social care workforce is unfit to deliver quality care for people with dementia.

'Prepared to Care' a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Dementia found large variation in the dementia skills of the social care workforce. Barriers to delivering good care included low levels of training, ineffective regulation, lack of accreditation for trainers and a limited understanding of dementia by commissioners.

During a four month long inquiry, families told MPs how a lack of skills led to poor care for loved ones. Experts reported less than half of staff providing home care had any dementia training and many were given just 15 minutes to deliver good care. In other evidence, high quality care reinforced that the right skills make a huge difference to people's lives. The report recommends that workforce development plans outlined in the National Dementia Strategy for England be quickly implemented.

Jeremy Wright MP, Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia says,

'It is deeply disturbing that the UK is not equipped to deliver high quality dementia care. One in three people over 65 die with dementia. This report identifies significant barriers to good care but it also presents unique opportunities to put things right. Organisations who deliver good care show us that ongoing training, support and the opportunity to practice person-centred care transform people's lives. We must improve training and support across the UK and give staff recognition for the difficult and important role they undertake.'

Neil Hunt, Chief Executive of Alzheimer's Society says,

'As the number of people with dementia reaches more than a million in less than 20 years, the entire social care workforce must be geared up to deliver good dementia care. Dementia care is a highly skilled profession. Social care staff must given the right support and training and the Department of Health must show leadership to deliver workforce development commitments in the National Dementia Strategy. Since the 1950's improvements in cancer care have given millions of people a better quality of life. The same must now be done for people with dementia.'

Elsewhere the report recommends that the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) could be used to develop career pathways for dementia care that could attract new staff and government funding for training. MPs also advocate that the Short Observational Framework tool (SOFI) could be used to inspect services for people with dementia and that an accreditation programme for trainers must be developed.

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia (APPG) raises awareness dementia amongst parliamentarians and aims to influence legislation and policy making to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers.
 the APPG on Dementia report, 'Always a last resort' found that up to.....read all of Workforce Not Ready To Deliver Dementia Care

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Merry Christmas Fellow Activities Professionals

Dec 18
Activities Directors, other healthcare professionals, and caregivers


Activities directors and other healthcare professionals here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals.


Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire 

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two


Follow alzheimersideas on twitter

I would like to wish you, your family and friends with or without dementia the best holiday possible.

Take time to relax and recharge for whatever comes your way

Make sure to frequently visit here for extremely helpful information to help those with dementia as well as ways to stave off or slow down the dementia process. Some information is posted almost everyday

One more time-Happy Holiday

Another top activity for those with dementia

Alzheimer's Activities Expert
Activities directors, other healthcare professionals, and caregivers....
How do we get folks with dementia or anyone else for that matter interested in square dancing and why would you want to?

Every six months or so I invite a local square dancing group to our nursing home. As you can see by the picture, the members of the group are not young. Yet all are sharp mentally. Why “You ask?”

I have not delved into each person’s background. However I know that when you do activities that stimulate your mind and body at the same time, you go a long way in staving off dementia.

The folks I work with everyday already have dementia. So what do I do?
First let them......read the whole post

For dementia information, click here

For more Alzheimer's and dementia activities, click here

For information on being the best caregiver you can be, click here

For a great resource for those with dementia, caregivers and healthcare professinals, click here

Another great dementia activity(part 2)

Alzheimer's Activities Expert

We are discussing the game “What Baby Photograph Do I Have?” You actually can give the game any name you want.

Now that you have seen some of the pictures, as I said yesterday, it is probably a good......read the whole post

Visit this award winning blog

Another great dementia activity

You as Activities Directors, other healthcare professionals, or caregivers will be interested in this activity

Alzheimer's Activities Expert

This is another ideal activity to be done with the flash cards, “Adorable Photographs of Our Baby”

Before the actual beginning of the game, it is probably best to discuss all the different things babies do. There are fourteen baby photograph cards, so gear your discussion towards what is on the photographs. Here is a list of what the babies are doing:

Two babies are kissing
The baby is playing with bright colorful toys in his crib.
The baby is eating. The baby is sweeping.
The baby is cooking
The baby is taking a bath.
The baby is drying off...................read the whole post

For more dementia information, click here