The Future Dementia Workforce
With nearly one million people in the UK currently living with dementia, the strain on health and social care systems is increasing.
On 21st January, seventy attendees gathered at DeNPRU-QM’s first public event to discuss the urgent challenges and opportunities facing the dementia workforce.
The event was co-organised by the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Dementia and Neurodegeneration at Queen Mary (DeNPRU-QM) in collaboration with The Curiosity Partnership and the NIHR School for Social Care Research.
Identifying the need: high-quality training
Hosted in York’s historic Guildhall, the session began with a presentation from the DeNPRU-QM research team followed by a panel discussion. Throughout the afternoon, speakers evidenced the need for high-quality training to ensure that the future dementia workforce can continue to provide compassionate and tailored care for people affected by dementia. Audience members included people living with dementia, family carers, charity representatives, service providers, those with clinical backgrounds and researchers, generating rich discussion after the presentations.
Dr Zubir Ahmed MP, Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department of Health and Social Care, shared a video message of support. As both a clinician and a politician, Zubir acknowledged the priority of the workforce in ensuring equitable access to excellent care.
Drawing on insights from three systematic reviews from DeNPRU-QM on the social care and healthcare workforce, two Early Career Researchers, Malvika Muralidhar and Saskia Delray, and one Mid-Career Researcher, Dr Madeleine Walpert, presented key findings. Their presentation set the stage for a panel discussion chaired by Professor Yvonne Birks.
From theory to practice
The panel members were:
- Dr Zena Aldridge, Regional Clinical Lead for Dementia, NHS England
- Professor Sube Banerjee, Pro-Vice Chancellor & Professor of Dementia, University of Nottingham
- Sarah Gribbin, Head of Learning and Development, Home Instead
- Mark MacDonald, Associate Director of Advocacy and System Change, Alzheimer’s Society, and
- Dr Mohammed Rauf, Founder and Director of Meri Yaadain.
The discussion explored what high-quality care looks like for individuals living with dementia and their families, the importance of equipping health and social care professionals with mechanisms for initial and ongoing training, systems that work and strategies to ensure that workforce skills remain current and effective over time.
DeNPRU-QM’s first public event offered an invaluable platform for stakeholders to share insights and agree a commitment to a dementia workforce ready to meet future challenges. The event concluded with informal networking over tea and cakes, fostering connections and further dialogue.
Find out more
Our reviews are available to read as preprints by clicking on the links below:
- Dementia Education and Training for the Multidisciplinary Student Healthcare Workforce: A Systematic Review | medRxiv
- Dementia Training for Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Policy and Evidence Review | medRxiv
- Systematic policy and evidence review to consider how dementia education and training is best delivered in the social care workforce, and how policy does or can enable its implementation in England | medRxiv
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