Looking after someone at home with dementia can be very demanding so that support services such as domiciliary care, day care, district nursing etc. are often required. There is a feeling among carers that these services need staff who are able to work in a compassionate, person-centred way and who are appropriately trained to understand the needs of people with dementia and their carers. Similarly in residential settings, family carers recognise that some care staff have a limited understanding of the needs of people with dementia.

Having witnessed the majority of people with dementia in care homes becoming institutionalised, bored and sometimes consequently depressed, with minimal and often token provision of activities on offer, the trustees believe that much more emphasis on maintaining people’s activities on entry to and during their stay in care homes is required. Similarly this kind of provision may also be required for people who continue to stay in their own home and in their own communities but who need support to maintain activities whether at home or in a community setting.

Being aware of the excellent work of Admiral Nurses in some parts of the UK, the trustees are keen to support specialist services of this kind in nursing. We are also interested in specialist home / domiciliary care services for people with dementia