Planning, commissioning and delivering bespoke short breaks for carers and their partner living with dementia: Challenges and opportunities.

The importance of supporting unpaid carers for people living with dementia (PLWD) is recognised in adult social care policy both nationally and internationally. In the UK, social care legislation emphasises care and support should help people achieve the outcomes that matter to them in their life; this includes the opportunity to take a break from caring routines and responsibilities. Accordingly, there is growing policy and practice interest in short breaks provision to address the diversity of carer break needs and preferences and deliver meaningful outcomes for carers and those they support.

Enhancing communication between dementia care staff and their residents: an arts-inspired intervention.

The arts are increasingly recognised as important and beneficial activities for people living with dementia. However, there is little peer-reviewed published research exploring arts-based learning for dementia care staff. In response, this paper explores (a) how dementia care staff describe forms of communication in care settings, and (b) the impact on communication following four sessions of 'Creative Conversations', an arts-based intervention for skills development.

Birthday funding boost puts the focus on patients, research and world-class staff.

Excellent heathcare provision requires significant sums of money, says nurse and Conservative MP for Lewes Maria Caulfield, but she stresses that free care for all will remain the guiding principle of the NHS.