Dementia care: progress and prospects

Abstract

To set the scene for this special section on 'Dementia Care', areas of progress and challenge are highlighted. The growth of community teams, memory clinics, positive approaches, alternative homes for dementia sufferers, Admiral nurse services and of work with families is welcomed. The recognition of the perspective of family care-givers has fuelled many of these developments. The greatest challenge to dementia care comes from translating the rhetoric of community care into practical reality, which requires great skill and creativity if reliance on institutional care is to be reduced. Greater attention needs to be given to the perspective of the person with dementia; earlier diagnosis requires counselling approaches to be pursued more vigorously; ways of representing more adequately the person's view of quality of care systems must be found. Dementia care is demanding work; staff involved need to be valued and supported if these challenges are to be met.