CQC publish report looking at health and social care support for people with dementia in England
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report entitled: ‘Health and social care support for people with dementia’.
The report’s findings, which are based on engagement with people living with dementia, unpaid/family carers, professionals and providers (both NHS and social care), as well as analysis of a range of information CQC holds, includes:
- Health and social care staff do not always understand the specific, personal care needs of people with dementia.
- Care environments, including hospital wards and care homes, sometimes do not support people’s wellbeing.
- People did not always feel there was ongoing care and had to seek out community charity support groups themselves.
The report also highlights good practice examples, including:
- People who had good support from their primary care services during their dementia diagnosis and ongoing support described the positive effect this had on their wellbeing.
- When a GP provides support and understanding of concerns during an assessment it can help improve the person’s experience and lead to a more timely diagnosis.
- Good dementia care is provided in enabling environments with well-trained, compassionate professionals who understand the person and how best to relate to them.
CQC say they will use the findings in this report to develop – alongside people with lived experience, providers and other stakeholders – a definition of what good, joined-up dementia care looks like so that CQC can apply this to all areas of their regulatory activity as part of their Dementia Strategy.
You can read the report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/health-and-social-care-support-dementia