Major initiative on dementia care
Posted on 23 July 2008
Officers from the Council’s Adult and Community Services directorate are working with the University’s Department of Health Sciences, with support from the government sponsored Care Services Improvement Partnership and the Carer’s Association, to design a learning programme for the county’s carers. It will equip them to look after the increasing numbers of North Yorkshire residents who may develop dementia.
We’re all aware of the importance of dementia care training, and it is very gratifying to be involved with the development and training of care workers in North Yorkshire
Gordon Evans
The partners are designing the programme content which is based largely on the emerging national strategy ‘Transforming the Quality of Dementia Care’ (currently under consultation). This includes ‘living normally with dementia’, ‘legislation and the law’ and ‘risk-taking and the individual with dementia’.
County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, Executive Member for Adult and Community Services, said: "It is a fact of life that the age profile of North Yorkshire is changing, and that there are more and more people over the age of retirement, and more and more of them are living longer lives.
"While we all hope to enjoy the best of health in old age, it is sadly also a fact of life that a proportion of these older residents will develop some form of dementia. It is vitally important that our carers, who already offer a superb support service to enable people to live independent lives in their own homes, are trained to maintain the high standards we currently enjoy.
"This innovative partnership between North Yorkshire, University of York and others with a specialist interest in this area, illustrates and underlines our commitment to this ethos."It is envisaged that up to 70 members of the Adult and Community Services staff will undertake the programme between now and the beginning of 2009.
"The University is looking forward to working with North Yorkshire in this way," said Gordon Evans, of the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York.
"We’re all aware of the importance of dementia care training, and it is very gratifying to be involved with the development and training of care workers in North Yorkshire."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- North Yorkshire County Council: Press contact: Daphne Tomkins, Workforce Development Manager, 01609 532888. Executive member: County Councillor Chris Metcalfe (Con) 01937-832501
- The Department of Health Sciences at York is large and multidisciplinary, offering a broad range of taught and research programmes in the health and social care field. It aims to develop the role of scientific evidence in health and health care through high quality research, teaching and other forms of dissemination.