David Cameron announces new measures to improve hospital dementia care
Published 4 January 2013
David Cameron has today (Friday 4 January) announced a new set of care quality measures which aim to drive up the quality of care experienced by people with dementia in hospitals.
According to the announcement, dementia champions will be installed on every NHS ward, there will be a dementia nursing expert in each NHS organisation and commitments have been made to train staff by making online learning packages available.
Alzheimer's Society comment:
'People with dementia occupy a quarter of hospital beds yet many are not receiving the care they deserve. Having a dementia champion on each ward and giving access to online training to all staff could be a way of driving up standards.
'800,000 people in the UK have dementia. We agree that improving hospital care for people with dementia must remain a priority, but the big issue will be whether these laudable aspirations become a reality without specific funding. For those with the condition the proof will be in the pudding.'
Jeremy Hughes
Chief Executive
Alzheimer’s Society
