Care home group launches Dementia Champions programme with charity

Bupa and the Alzheimer’s Society have launched a joint initiative across Bupa’s 130 care homes to promote good standards of care for dementia patients. Each care home will appoint a member of staff as a ‘Dementia Champion’ who will be responsible for ensuring that all staff in the home that care for residents with dementia receive specialist training and support. The scheme has been successfully trialled in six Bupa homes and will now be rolled out to the remaining 124. A Bupa spokesperson commented that: ‘We believe that specialist training of care home staff is a key factor in ensuring our residents enjoy the highest possible quality of life.’ Neil Hunt of the Alzheimer’s Society went on to describe how the Dementia Champions’ role will go much further than just training staff: ‘It is not enough simply to tick a box and say someone has been trained. The drive to improve care needs to be ongoing and the whole culture of the workplace needs to change. That’s what Bupa and Alzheimer’s Society are seeking to achieve with this programme.’