SCIE media releases 2007

Joint approach to social and health care is key to improving dementia service

04 July 2007

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) welcomes the report from the National Audit Office on dementia.

"Dementia is one of the biggest issues facing social care and healthcare" says Amanda Edwards, acting chief executive of SCIE. "SCIE agrees that it should be given greater priority - that is why we worked with NICE to produce the joint guidelines for health and social care workers on dementia care. For the first time, both health and social care workers are working towards the same set of guidelines. Early diagnosis and a coordinated approach which meets the social care and healthcare needs of people with dementia and their carers is essential. The NAO report sheds further light on the current system of care - and reveals that there is still a long way to go.

"SCIE is working with NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), CSIP (Care Services Improvement Programme) and the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) to ensure that health and social care workers are aware of and using the NICE/SCIE guidelines. This includes developing information, in partnership with voluntary organisations, for service users and carers on the implications of the guidelines."

SCIE is also producing a series of e-learning resources on mental health care for older people. These online tools, which will be launched in the summer, will support learning and skills development for all those working with older people.

SCIE related resources:
Practice guide NICE/SCIE: Dementia: supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care (NICE clinical guide 42)
Knowledge review: Outcomes-focused services for older people
Practice guide: Dignity in care
Practice guide: Assessing the mental health needs of older people

Ends

Media contact

Iris Steen | Director of Communications | T: 020 7089 7122 | M:  07885 736 643
Email: Iris.Steen@scie.org.uk

Notes to editors

• Acting Chief Executive, Amanda Edwards, is available for interview.
• The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) aims to improve the experiences of social care service users by advancing and promoting knowledge about good practice. SCIE's resources bring together policy and research with the opinions of practitioners, service users and carers.
• SCIE is a registered charity that works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It covers the whole of social care including services for adults, children and families, stakeholder participation, people management, social work education, e-learning and the use of knowledge in social care.
• SCIE also runs Social Care Online - the most comprehensive database of social care information. For more information visit www.scie.org.uk