Designing a training programme to improve staff attitudes towards people with dementia.

Nurses in acute settings often lack the knowledge and experience to provide appropriate care for patients with dementia. Two specialist nurses at the Biggart Hospital in South Ayrshire, Scotland, used a questionnaire to determine staff attitudes to patients with dementia and designed a multidisciplinary training programme to improve practice in dementia care. This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of the first stage of the programme.