Over a third of care workers lack basic knowledge of dementia, research has found.

According to a report commissioned by dementia charity Alzheimer's Society, titled ‘The Training Gap: A Hidden Injustice in Dementia Care and How to Fix it’, just 52% of staff surveyed feel very competent in the care they deliver, with only 39% of training meeting the level recommended for staff frequently supporting people living with dementia.

The report that was led by experts at the Centre for Dementia Research and IFF Research found that just 15% of training packages reflected the evidence-based eight hour minimum of dementia-specific training.

According to the research, over 80% of care staff would like more dementia specific training, with the charity emphasizing that the ‘shortfall’ in dementia training ‘is driving a hidden injustice at the heart of dementia care’.

Addressing the dementia training gap, the charity has warned that staff feel unprepared, which in turn creates risk of people with dementia receiving inadequate care.

It calls for a new legal requirement for social care providers to see that direct care staff working in older adults’ care, as well as direct care staff working with people with dementia in other settings, are equipped with best practice dementia training.

The new CQC statutory guidance on dementia should give this effect, the report urges.

Michelle Dyson CB, CEO at Alzheimer’s Society said: ‘Baristas can receive more training to make great coffee than care workers receive to provide dementia care. Care staff want and deserve better; they need dementia training which gives them the skills and confidence to deliver the best possible care.

‘Without high quality dementia training, social care will remain dangerously inconsistent, leaving families unsure whether loved ones will be supported with dignity and expertise.’

Ms Dyson urged the Government to introduce a requirement for all relevant adult social care workers in its dementia plan to help close the training gap and boost dementia care.