Parliamentary inquiry into dementia care

Craegmoor’s response to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Dementia’s report on the readiness of the social care workforce to deliver personalised care to people with dementia, was a positive one.

We understand there are currently an estimated 700,000 people in the UK with dementia and this number looks set to double over the next 30 years. Such significant numbers of people represent a huge challenge to the social care sector, but one that we must absolutely rise to. We need activism and constructive feedback to guide our work and help us to continually improve - and this is precisely why Craegmoor wishes to thank the APPG on Dementia for its four month long inquiry, report and accompanying recommendations.

Ted Smith, our Chief Executive Officer comments:

“Jeremy Hunt MP is quite right in his assertion that ongoing training, support and opportunities to practice person-centred care make a huge difference to service provision and can ultimately change lives. Craegmoor wants to lead the sector by example and we have already made a great start – investing substantially in training and workforce development.”

Initial mandatory training courses are delivered to all Craegmoor staff which is aimed at improving their awareness of person-centred approaches, particularly for people with dementia. Additionally, all Craegmoor Managers within the company’s Older People Division – 70% of the services in which are rated as either Good or Excellent by the Care Quality Commission – have received training from David Sheard, a leader in the field of person-centred dementia care and further staff training in the field of dementia is ongoing.

We have recently appointed our new Dementia Care Specialist, Debra Fox, who embraces our dementia care provision and spearheads new initiatives. The appointment demonstrates Craegmoor’s commitment to providing first-class care for people with dementia and support that ensures respect and dignity.

Craegmoor continues to implement all of the recommendations set out in the National Dementia Strategy and hopes that other service providers will do the same. We passionately believe in person-centred care and the concept remains integral to all of our services, including dementia care.