Across health and social care, inspectors are finding inconsistencies in staff confidence around dementia-friendly environments. CQC inspectors report that staff lack a clear understanding of dementia. That’s not a small issue.
Providers themselves acknowledge the same challenge: everyone, at every level, needs a solid baseline understanding of dementia - and some people need to go further. That’s where dementia champions come in.
In one care home rated Outstanding by the CQC, trained dementia champions observed practice, supported colleagues with feedback, and strengthened care planning. The impact was tangible: reduced anxiety and fewer periods of distress for people living with dementia.
Read on for tips on creating a dementia champion in your organisation. We’ve also developed this guide with a printable poster for you.
What makes a dementia champion effective?
Research into dementia champions by Monica Leverton and colleagues highlights three critical ingredients for success:
- Clear role definition and boundaries
- Organisational and managerial buy-in, including protected time
- Ongoing professional development
Without these, the role risks becoming tokenistic. With them, it can become transformative.
If you’re considering introducing dementia champions in your service, here’s how to approach it thoughtfully and sustainably.
Clarify the purpose and scope
Start with why. What do you want your dementia champion to influence? Everyday practice on shifts? The physical environment? Family support? Staff training? All of the above?
You should be able to describe the role simply. Make sure it’s aligned to your organisational values, your dementia strategy, and CQC expectations. Keep it visible in job descriptions, supervision, and appraisal processes.
A simple role profile might include:
- Advocate for people living with dementia
- Point of contact for staff and families
- Lead for best practice and person-centred approaches
- Supporter of dementia-friendly environments
Clarity protects both the champion and the organisation.
Define key responsibilities
In most services, dementia champions focus on a combination of practice leadership, education and improvement.
This often includes:
- Raising awareness and challenging stigma among staff, relatives and visitors
- Modelling person-centred, relationship-centred practice in day-to-day care
- Supporting colleagues in complex or distress-related situations
- Signposting to relevant tools, services and community support
- Strengthening use of person-centred resources such as “This is Me” profiles
- Contributing to audits and improvement projects linked to dementia care
The key is balance: influence without overwhelming, empowerment without stepping outside job scope.
Get the right person
Values are key in this kind of role.
Look for:
- Empathy and patience
- Strong communication skills
- Reflective thinking
- A genuine interest in improving dementia care
Be transparent about expectations. This role may involve attending meetings, mentoring colleagues, and cascading training. It requires time and energy. If staff turnover is high, consider developing more than one champion to create resilience and continuity.
Provide dementia specific training
Training should be mapped to recognised frameworks such as the Dementia Training Standards Framework, with Tier 2 as a baseline and Tier 3 as an ambition for champions who will lead and educate others.
Comprehensive dementia awareness training should cover:
- Different types of dementia and how they present
- Communication, distress and behaviour as communication
- Person-centred and relationship-centred approaches
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Legal and ethical frameworks, including MCA and safeguarding
- Supporting families and carers
Just as importantly, champions need skills in influencing others: coaching, reflective practice, giving feedback and leading small-group learning.
A champion must be confident not only in what they know, but in how they share it.
Embed the role in everyday practice
For dementia champions to succeed, the role must be visible and supported.
That means:
- Regular protected time, even if modest
- Involvement in care planning and reviews, particularly where distress or risk is present
- A clear line of support to a senior lead or manager
- Recognition of their contribution in supervision, internal communications and career pathways
When the role is embedded, it becomes part of the fabric of the service.
From awareness to culture
Creating dementia champions isn’t about delegating all of the responsibility for dementia care to one person. It’s about creating an internal expert that who can help raise standards across the board.
At a time when services are under pressure, investing in dementia leadership might feel like an extra, when in reality, it’s a safeguard. When staff understand dementia, anxiety around it reduces, communication improves, and care becomes more responsive and person-centred.
A well-supported dementia champion helps to create calmer environments where people living with dementia feel safer and better understood.
Download our Dementia Champions Guide
You can download our Dementia champions guide and poster here!
Dementia Awareness course
In this dementia training we look at how you can support people to live well with dementia, including how to provide support in the later stages.
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