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The University of Southampton
Health Sciences

RCN and University report calls for more specialist dementia nurses

Published: 26 March 2013

A new report published by the RCN and the University of Southampton calls for greater support, funding and training for specialist dementia nurses, adding that they could save the health service almost £11,000,000 a year.

 The report - Scoping the role of dementia nurse specialists in acute care - highlights the significant contribution dementia nurse specialists could make in hospital settings. It found that if dementia specialist nurses were properly funded and trained they could reduce hospital stays for older people by one day on average, which could save almost £11,000,000 a year. 

Dementia nurse specialists can reduce the length of hospital stays, help prevent falls and readmissions, and provide education and leadership to other staff. The report recommends that there should be at least one whole time dementia specialist nurse for every 300 hospital admissions for people with dementia. 

However, the role of dementia nurse specialist is still relatively new, and the report recommends a greater focus on education, training and workforce planning to address this.

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN said: "Dementia is one of the biggest issues facing the country and it is an issue that the health service cannot afford to ignore.

"Evidence from other areas of the health service shows how effective specialist nurses can be in improving the lives of patients and also raising awareness of the needs of dementia patients with other health care staff.

"Their expertise can improve patient care as well as providing real long-term savings and they could play an important role in improving the experience of people with dementia in this country."

Peter Griffiths, author of the report and Chair of Health Services Research at the University of Southampton, said: "With more than 800,000 people in the UK affected by dementia, we desperately need a new approach to improve patient and family experiences. Specialist dementia nurses, embedded in an acute setting, might have significant benefits for patients, their families and hospitals.

"Investment is needed to support the education and training of nurses and to create new posts. However we could see a massive return on this investment. The success of specialist nurses in other areas suggests an opportunity for the same position in dementia care."

Dinah Cox, newly appointed Head of RCN Foundation, which funded the report, said: "We are proud to support the RCN's programme of work on Dementia. The RCN Foundation's work focuses on working in partnership with organisations and individuals on innovative projects which will make a difference to the health and wellbeing of the public. 

"As a registered charity that supports nursing to transform service delivery and provide quality patient care we look forward to working on similar initiatives in the future."

Notes for editors

  1.  For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit  http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media 
  2. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations
  3. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.  

    With over 23,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover well in excess of £435 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.

    The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres including the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Institute for Life Sciences, the Web Science Trust and Doctoral training Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute and is a partner of the National Oceanography Centre at the Southampton waterfront campus.
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