Dementia care standards are "patchy"

Standards of dementia care differ greatly around the country, with many providers not up to scratch.

That is the view of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which has issued new standards for those providing care to people with the cognitive condition.

Until recently the body was only focused on issuing recommendations to NHS sites, but it has now been given additional powers by the government which enables it to give guidance to councils and care homes.

One of the new standards calls for people with dementia to be housed in premises which meet their individual needs, while another states they should be given access to social and leisure activities.

"The general picture is that care is patchy," professor Gillian Leng, NICE deputy chief executive, said.  "We know that it is really good in places but it's not consistent.

"My personal view is that we are all playing catch-up because the number of people with dementia has been increasing so dramatically," she stated.

At present, dementia affects around 800,000 people in the UK, but the figure is expected to rise above one million by 2021.