As the care sector continues to evolve, one of the most pressing areas demanding focused attention is complex dementia care. This is not standard care. It is a specialism – a distinct, demanding, and often misunderstood branch of dementia support that requires a level of skill and insight that goes far beyond mandatory training tick-boxes.
Care Campaign for the Vulnerable has long advocated for better understanding and accountability in dementia care. But more than ever, are now calling for the introduction of a national qualification in complex dementia care – a recognised standard that reflects the realities of supporting individuals with advanced, unpredictable, and often challenging symptoms.
In my work I support families and care providers navigating the impact of behaviours that are deeply distressing – both for the person living with dementia and for those around them. These behaviours, including sudden aggression, delusions, paranoia, disinhibition, or intense anxiety, are not simply “difficult.” They are often the result of progressive neurological decline, triggered by a mix of fear, confusion, sensory overload or unmet emotional and physical needs. Without the right training, such moments can catch even experienced carers off guard.
I speak from personal experience. In my mother’s later stages of vascular dementia, she began to experience severe anxiety and would sometimes lash out. It was heart-breaking. Not because of the behaviour itself, but because I knew how far this was from the gentle woman I’d known all my life. And yet, I was approached by care staff – sometimes with what felt like judgement , as if her distress reflected a lack of discipline, or worse, that I should somehow justify it. In those moments, what was missing was not compassion, but understanding and over ten years supporting families, similar accounts have been told to me.
What I saw then, and what I still see too often now, is a gap in professional knowledge. One that leaves care workers unsupported, residents misunderstood, and families devastated. This is not a training issue alone – it’s a cultural one. We cannot continue to place staff in front of complex needs without equipping them to interpret, respond to and manage those needs with the right tools and emotional resilience.
That is why CCFTV believes the answer lies in a national, standardised qualification for complex dementia care – one that is recognised across the sector and gives care teams the professional development they deserve. A qualification of this kind would validate the specialist nature of the role, improve outcomes, and help retain the passionate, capable workforce we so urgently need.
I’m encouraged to see more providers actively exploring how they can deliver deeper, more robust dementia training internally. I’ve spoken with CEOs, managers, and clinical leads who understand that staff confidence and competence go hand in hand with care quality. But training must be consistent, evidence-led, and recognised. It must be about more than avoiding incidents – it must be about empowering care teams to deliver truly person-centred, emotionally intelligent care, even in the most challenging moments.
Introducing a national qualification would also send a powerful message to families. It would reassure them that their loved one is being supported by someone who is not only kind and committed, but expertly trained in the complexities of a condition that can shift by the hour. That kind of confidence changes everything, for the person living with dementia, for their family, and the carers doing the work.
As the sector moves forward, there is a growing consensus that culture change in care is not just about environments or policies- it’s about people. It’s about who we choose to support, how we train them, and how we respect their role. Complex dementia care deserves recognition. It deserves professional status and those living with its most advanced symptoms deserve nothing less than excellence.
Now is the time to take that step and to create a national qualification that raises the bar, recognises the specialist nature of the work, and ensures that those delivering complex dementia care are fully prepared, properly supported, and proudly acknowledged.
Because when staff, understand and respond correctly to people living with complex dementia, it changes everything.
