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Commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society and delivered by the Centre of Dementia Research at Leeds Beckett University in partnership with IFF Research, this new report provides the most detailed picture to date of the level, quality and impact of dementia training across adult social care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A range of evidence, including our own What Works research study, has consistently reported that a well-trained workforce provides better quality care. This research has drawn on this evidence and the key components that define best practice dementia training to assess training currently being provided to care staff across the social care sector.
Existing reviews of training in the sector have not collected information about the types of training provided, or understood the provider perspective. This research responds to these gaps, providing a sector specific view from both providers and recipients of dementia training. It deepens understanding of the extent and nature of dementia training being provided to the social care workforce, and the impact of training on the ability of the workforce to deliver high-quality care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This research provides a sector specific overview of dementia training for the social care workforce from the perspective of social care providers and recipients of training in England Wales and Northern Ireland. It proposes a series of tangible and practical evidence informed recommendations, with costs, to facilitate the delivery of best practice dementia training for the social care workforce.
In each nation we undertook a national audit of social care providers, a survey of direct care staff and case studies in two social care sites (six in total). It also includes costed policy recommendations for commissioners, government, regulators and providers.
Professor Sarah Jane Smith and Professor Claire Surr.
This report highlights the need to transform the way in which dementia training for the social care workforce is delivered and received. Despite some progress, this new research suggests that the training that staff currently receive is unlikely to be sufficient to equip the dementia care workforce to deliver high-quality person-centred care.
We found that the current dementia training offer is dominated by:
This is negatively impacting on staff knowledge and understanding of dementia – with just over a third of staff not having the basic knowledge of dementia required to care for someone with dementia. We also found that only around of staff were receiving dementia specific training; the recommended approach in terms of delivery and duration of training to deliver the knowledge and skills required for social care staff with regular contact with people with dementia.
As a result, this report recommends a new legal requirement for all social care providers to ensure all direct care staff working in older adults’ care - and direct care staff working with people living with dementia in other settings - undertake best practice dementia training. This should include both homecare and care home staff.
Read the reports from Enlgand, Wales and Northern Ireland:
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