Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including specialist dementia nurses as part of the Neighbourhood Health Service.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals, closer to people’s homes, to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and so they could include dementia nurses. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services may look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities, depending on local need.