NICE publishes draft dementia care standards

NICE’s draft standards on dementia care emphasise “choice and control” for patients and carers, as well as access to independent advice.

The guidance on “supporting people to live well with dementia” recommends involving patients and carers in planning of end of life care at an early stage.

The final version will be the first NICE standards document for social care, as required by the Health and Social Care Act (2012).

A core principle of the draft standards is that people with dementia and their carers should have choice and control over their care and support, and be involved in planning and evaluating services.

They should have access to a local dementia adviser who can help them to access further support, and have supported access to an independent advocate.

Andrew Chidgey, Director of External Affairs at the Alzheimer’s Society, commented that it was “a huge step forward” for patients and carers to be involved in early planning of end of life care.

“Being able to record preferences around where the person would want to be cared for along with what treatments they would like and not like provides key information for health services,” he said.

Consultation on the standards ends on 16 October.