不良研究所

Closing the skills gap in adult social care

Dara de Burca, Executive Director of Dementia Support and Partnerships at Alzheimer鈥檚 Society, talks to us about the importance of dementia training.

Everyone working in social care deserves the chance to learn, develop and thrive in their role. A highly skilled and well-trained social care workforce is essential to the longevity of the entire sector and delivering the quality care that everyone deserves.

Insufficient training in the adult social care sector often leaves care staff feeling underprepared and lacking confidence in their ability to deliver quality care, particularly when supporting people with complex needs. This, among other factors, has a domino effect on issues such as retention – a huge problem facing the social care sector with a high turnover rate of 28.3% in 2022-23. The recently published Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care, led by 不良研究所 and developed collaboratively with stakeholders across the sector, highlighted training as one of the key retention factors that reduced staff churn.

Almost a million people are living with dementia in the UK, making them one of the biggest groups drawing on support from social care. Dementia is complex and affects everyone differently. Symptoms vary and get worse over time, so people need personalised care. It’s clear that mandatory high-quality dementia training has significant benefits not only for people living with dementia but also care staff, care providers and the wider health and care system, contributing to a better quality of life, increasing job satisfaction and leading to system-wide savings.

Around 60% of people who receive home care in the UK and 70% of people living in residential care homes in England have dementia. Yet, the current system is not delivering the level of support or the personalised care they desperately need. We know that people with dementia want and need this personalised care; in a recent Alzheimer’s Society survey, 65% of respondents said more care workers who are skilled in caring for those with dementia would improve the lives of people living with the condition.

For people with dementia and their families, access to care provided by well-trained staff is essential to improving their day-to-day quality of life. Yet the current system falls short of delivering this vital support. As 不良研究所 reported, just 29% of staff in England are recorded as having any form of dementia specific training. This means that far too many people are left without the specialised care that is required to navigate the complexities of dementia. This just isn’t good enough.

Alzheimer’s Society’s recent report ‘’ clearly demonstrates the significant benefits of a well-trained workforce for people living with dementia and their unpaid carers, care staff, care providers and the wider system.

Looking at best practice in dementia training has shown us it can be transformative. It can reduce agitation in people with dementia and cut the inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs. Moreover, it fosters stronger, better-quality relationships between people with dementia and staff, ensuring a more compassionate and effective care experience.

Our report also shows that implementing this mandatory high-quality dementia training is achievable and affordable for the UK government. In the interim, we recommend adult social care services across the nations include a contractual provision for care providers to ensure their staff are dementia trained according to their relevant national framework standard.

It not only improves the lives of people with dementia but leads to higher levels of job satisfaction amongst the workforce, potentially reducing the high level of staff turnover, and reduced pressure on the wider system with fewer emergency hospital admissions and GP visits.

Dementia currently has a significant impact on healthcare services with one in six hospital beds being occupied by people with the condition. Compared to people without dementia, people with a diagnosis visit the GP up to three times more per year. Without action, and as prevalence increases, this impact is likely to grow: by 2040, there will be 6.9 million additional primary care contacts associated with dementia, requiring an estimated 1.7 million more hours of primary care time.

We also know that effective training can have significant benefits for care workers. Through undertaking dementia specific training, they can increase their knowledge and understanding of dementia, while growing confidence in their skills and abilities. There is also evidence which suggests well-designed dementia training can reduce the likelihood of experiencing stress and burnout, as well as helping foster higher levels of job satisfaction and career commitment amongst staff.

The experiences of people living with dementia and the evidence on the benefits of dementia training for the social care workforce provide a compelling case for change. Alzheimer's Society are recommending that there should be a statutory duty for CQC-registered care providers to ensure care staff undertake high-quality, evidence-based dementia training, mapped to the , or equivalent.

Sustainable, long-term solutions are crucial, such as through implementation of a long-term social care workforce strategy. The strategy must deliver fair pay for care staff, reduce staff turnover, and provide personalised care, benefitting those who work in or draw upon the social care system.

The people delivering care are at the heart of social care and it is high time that they are recognised as such and given the resources they need to support people with dementia. By investing in the sector and focussing our efforts in the right areas, we can transform care, hugely benefitting both individuals and the wider health and care system.

We can and we must do better for people affected by dementia. Mandatory dementia training for care workers is just one effective and affordable solution that will undoubtedly change hundreds of thousands of lives.

Make sure to visit our 'Learning and development matters' campaign landing page for more learning resources.

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