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Dementia Care

I think that my hon. Friend has made some important points about how reorganising services can cause people a lot of concern, and how that needs careful handling, particularly in the case of people with dementia and those who care for them. A lack of continuity of care is a great cause for concern. As for trying to get the signals right, changes to incentives, such as the GPs' quality and outcomes framework, and national tariffs, are required. The quality and outcomes framework awards just 20 points out of 1,000 to dementia. The new strategy for developing the framework, promised by Lord Darzi in his recent review, will be critical to driving change. Can the Minister suggest when the strategy will be published, and how it will connect with the dementia strategy? It will require clear and enforceable standards, backed up by robust and regular inspection. At present, only 28 per cent. of care home places are registered specialist dementia places, despite the fact that 62 per cent. of places are filled by people with dementia—in some cases the figure is as high as 80 per cent. That surely results in some people being inappropriately placed, and the home failing, because of the want of appropriately trained staff, to provide the level of care required.