Alzheimer's Society comment on CSCI report 'See me, not just the dementia'

Researchers have used a new way of looking at the real experiences of people living in care homes. It shows that half of the homes inspected needed to improve care with 155 statutory requirements and 191 recommendations for improvements being made.

We can no longer afford to ignore the hard facts, if we are to drastically improve the quality of dementia care. The current CSCI star ratings need to change. This report shows that homes barely meeting standard requirements are being given acceptable star ratings.

New standards currently being developed are a good opportunity to show people what makes a good care home and where to find one. Two thirds of people living in care homes have a form of dementia. Standards must make sure that all care homes are geared up to deliver good dementia care and that all staff receive dementia training.

Home from Home, a recent report by Alzheimer's Society, found that

• Huge variations exist in the quality of care between care homes
• Half of all respondents reported that their relative did not have enough to do
• 1 in 4 said that they weren't involved in the decisions made about their relatives care
• The typical person with dementia in a care home spends just two minutes every 6 hours socially interacting with other people

Alzheimer's Society is calling for mandatory dementia training of all care home staff and a commitment by the government to improve the quality of care for people with dementia when it launches the first ever National Dementia Strategy later this month.

Background information

• The report is based on the findings from 100 inspections covering the experiences of 424 people with moderate to advanced dementia.  
• The focus of the report is on whether care is personalised and enhances people's dignity.
• Findings include that 42% of people spent no time at all in contact with other people living in the home during a time of the day when higher levels of interaction might have been expected and in some cases homes poor care culture may have led people to be more withdrawn.
• The findings support the importance of well-trained and supported staff working in homes committed to person-centred care, which may or may not be care homes that specialise in care for people with dementia.

For further information please contact: Press Office, 020 7423 3595.