Dementia Carers Count, the national charity that supports the emotional and practical needs of carers looking after someone with dementia, is offering free dementia awareness training for all care staff.
The prevalence of dementia in care homes is increasing, with 70% of care home residents living with dementia. However, public confidence in care staff’s understanding of dementia is low. A survey carried out for ‘Workforce Matters’, a Parliamentary Inquiry into how to support people with dementia and their families, revealed that less than half of all respondents (44%) rated care staff’s understanding of dementia positively.
Claire Reading, Head of Business Development with Dementia Carers Count, said: “We believe that everyone caring for someone with dementia should have access to training. We also appreciate that there can be challenges when juggling staff training needs with budget restraints. So, we are delighted to offer a free to access ‘Introduction to Dementia’ course, designed for professional carers. Created and delivered by our specialist practitioners, the course should take less than an hour and a half to complete, but it doesn’t need to be finished in one go. You can dip in and out of it. The course is CPD accredited and offers carers the opportunity to understand more about dementia and supportive care.
“Benefitting from expert support from Dementia Carers Count is a great way for staff and care homes to show their commitment to high quality dementia care. We work alongside care homes and home care agencies as a trusted partner to deliver programmes that develop a deeper understanding of dementia and enhance carers’ confidence.”
