The government has today opened a recruitment process for England's first national Dementia Tsar, with ministers seeking a senior figure to lead efforts to improve diagnosis, care, research and support for people living with dementia.
The two-year appointment, first promised by the former health secretary Wes Streeting following recommendations made through Baroness Casey's review of adult social care six months ago, will report directly to the health and social care secretary and will be tasked with driving delivery of the forthcoming ‘modern service framework for frailty and dementia’, according to the ad.
It adds the person hired will be paid £660 per day to lead a new dementia council bringing together government, the NHS, social care, local government, industry, academia, life sciences and the voluntary sector.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the successful candidate will provide ‘visible, authoritative leadership’ across prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, support, research and innovation, while holding government to account on dementia commitments and acting as an independent public champion for people living with dementia, families and unpaid carers.
The Tsar will also oversee delivery of dementia priorities within the MSF and publish an annual report on progress, it added.
'Waste no time'
The recruitment launch follows comments made by social care and mental health minister Alison McGovern at the Alzheimer's Society today.
Speaking at the event, Ms McGovern said the government would "waste no time" implementing recommendations to appoint a Dementia Tsar as part of wider plans to tackle what she described as the long-standing neglect of dementia and social care.
"Dementia has been neglected for far too long and nowhere is this division between health and social care felt more sharply than by people living with dementia and their families," she said.
Ms McGovern added that reform of dementia care depended on recognition of the skills required by the social care workforce.
Commenting on negative perceptions of care work, she said: "I would just like to show them the emotional intelligence it takes to help an older person, proud but frail, to have a shower; allowing someone to be vulnerable with you, giving them the confidence to let you help them.
"That takes intelligence and kindness."
The minister said improving social care would be essential to supporting families affected by dementia and enabling more people to remain in work, while helping meet projected workforce demand for an additional 200,000 adult social care workers by 2035.
The government is accepting applications for the National Dementia Tsar role until 8 October.
