{"id":723704,"date":"2026-08-02T01:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T01:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/723704\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T01:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T01:54:22","slug":"care-workers-could-be-given-dementia-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/723704\/","title":{"rendered":"Care workers could be given dementia training"},"content":{"rendered":"

Care workers<\/a> could get specialist training in how to look after patients with dementia<\/a> as part of Andy Burnham\u2019s overhaul of social care<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper<\/a> announced on Wednesday that a new \u201cDementia Tsar\u201d will be in place within weeks to \u201chelp drive forward much-needed improvements\u201d in the sector.<\/p>\n

Appointing a Dementia Tsar is one of the early recommendations of Baroness Louise Casey\u2019s social care commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Alzheimer\u2019s Society said it stood ready to work with the Prime Minister<\/a> for a \u201cquick win\u201d on social care such as training carers.<\/p>\n

Currently, there is no legal requirement that exists for care staff<\/a> to undertake dementia training in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. All care workers are offered dementia training in Scotland.<\/p>\n

Recent research conducted on behalf of the Alzheimer\u2019s Society found that fewer than half (47 per cent) of social care staff received dementia training as part of their induction.<\/p>\n

The study was carried out by the Centre for Dementia Research at Leeds Beckett University, and IFF Research.<\/p>\n

Cooper will chair a new ministerial group to accelerate the Government\u2019s response to improving social care and introduce changes in the sector before Casey\u2019s commission completes its work next year.<\/p>\n

The ministerial group will look at improvements to the workforce, reform of the system and delivery of the commission\u2019s first recommendations, which include appointing a Dementia Tsar later this summer.<\/p>\n

No 10 and the Department of Health and Social Care could not say whether one of those improvements would be to give dementia training for care workers, but campaigners say it could be introduced relatively easily and make a big difference.<\/p>\n

And the problem of the care sector not treating dementia properly was raised by Casey herself on Wednesday, suggesting she will look to recommend improved training for staff.<\/p>\n

She said dementia was a \u201cbig hidden problem\u201d and needed to be treated in the same way cancer<\/a> was in the NHS.<\/p>\n

The peer added: \u201cIt is absolutely extraordinary to me that we do not recognise or see dementia within society, but also within\u2026 public services.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like it\u2019s a big hidden problem. It\u2019s the thing that we fear the most. So the public fear dementia<\/a>, and at the same time, it\u2019s the largest killer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I found it really interesting and really deeply troubling that we seem to have one system in the National Health Service<\/a> for people that don\u2019t have dementia, but say have cancer or heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current system was \u201cvery, very medicalised, based in hospitals<\/a>\u201d and there was not enough \u201cstraightforward help for people in communities\u201d, Casey added.<\/p>\n

Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the Alzheimer\u2019s Society<\/a>, said: \u201cWe warmly welcome and support the Prime Minister\u2019s commitment to tackling social care. For people living with dementia, it is critical.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople living with dementia<\/a> need good-quality care as early as possible, but too often families are left to navigate a fragmented system, bearing huge emotional, practical and financial pressures.<\/p>\n

\u201cDementia is one of the biggest drivers of demand<\/a> on the care system. Getting social care right depends heavily on getting dementia care right, making the most of the new opportunities afforded by scientific breakthroughs, which mean we can intervene earlier and keep people well for longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public is fully behind us on this \u2013 our recent polling shows that four out of five people want dementia to be made a national healthcare priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrgency is key. We are looking forward to working with our new Prime Minister<\/a> on quick wins like dementia training for care workers, together with longer-term plans for reform that will leave a lasting legacy for people living with dementia now and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Care workers could get specialist training in how to look after patients with dementia as part of Andy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3557,19306,854,102,2960,104,11853,20558,239154,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-723704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-alzheimers","tag-andy-burnham","tag-dementia","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-nhs","tag-politics-exclusive","tag-social-care","tag-social-care-crisis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}