West Sussex Partners in Care Representatives Call on Local MP for Mandatory Dementia Care Training

Only 47% of care professionals currently receive dementia training during their induction.  That’s less than the amount of training baristas get to learn how to make a great coffee.  

For this reason, on Friday July 17th, Rosemary Pavoni BEM (WSPiC Chair) and Martha Pusey (Director of WSPiC & co-chair of the West Sussex Dementia Networking Group), met with their local Horsham MP, John Milne, to highlight the urgent need for mandatory dementia training for all adult social care staff in England.

During the meeting, they raised concerns about the current lack of a nationally mandated standard for dementia specific training.  Although many care providers use the Care Certificate, the quality and duration of training vary significantly between organisations, from a one-hour online module to a full day of face-to-face learning.

Martha said: “I have worked in social care for over 30 years, and the knowledge that I learnt 20 years ago is not even covered in training these days.  It really feels like the social care sector has gone backwards.”  Rosemary added: “In West Sussex, I have seen a well-funded training provision for social care dwindle significantly.”

Dementia is a complex condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people and their families.  Everyone working in adult social care should have the knowledge and confidence to provide compassionate, person-led care.  Training should not depend on where someone works.

WSPiC is calling for the Government to introduce a mandatory minimum standard for dementia training across the adult social care sector, ensuring that every member of staff has the skills needed to support people living with dementia with dignity, understanding and respect.  The proposal calls for the introduction of nationally recognised dementia training standards for adult social care, aligned with the NHS Dementia Training Standards Framework. It recommends mandatory training for all social care staff, designed to meet their roles, responsibilities and the values to work with people living with dementia. 

Rosemary said: “It’s not rocket science. If we’re asking people to care for someone living with dementia every day, they should have the right training to do it well. We wouldn’t take our car to a garage where the mechanic didn’t have the knowledge, skills or tools to repair it, so why should we expect people to provide specialist dementia care without the training they need? People living with dementia deserve care from a workforce that is properly equipped, confident and supported to meet their needs.”

The proposal covers essential topics including communication and behaviour in dementia care, Life Story Work, health and wellbeing, end-of-life care, and the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.  Martha, who is studying for a professional doctorate in dementia, is researching the importance of Life Storytelling. She said: “Part of the training needs to focus on how to get to know more about the life of the person with dementia, which in turn can help care professionals understand why someone with dementia might act or react in a certain way or what they mean when they are asking to see their Mum or Dad”.  

The proposal further recommends that people living with dementia, unpaid carers, social care professionals, and voluntary organisations co-produce and deliver the programme, mirroring the successful Oliver McGowan mandatory training model, for people with autism and learning disabilities.  

The meeting forms part of WSPiC and the West Sussex Dementia Networking Group’s ongoing campaign to improve standards of dementia care and ensure that people living with dementia receive consistent, high quality, person led support. Central to this work is a commitment to co-production, with people living with dementia and their families playing a leading role in shaping training, services and policy to ensure care reflects their experiences, needs and priorities.