ABSTRACT
The past 20 years has witnessed a growth of interest in mental health nursing of people with dementia, partly because of the increasing number of older people in Western society and their greater likelihood of developing dementia. Butterworth1 noted that people with dementia have often been a marginal concern within mental health nursing and have frequently been seen as an undesirable area of clinical practice. Dementia care has now become a dynamic, progressive and exciting area of mental health nursing. However, in many places, standards of care remain poor and there is no room for complacency.
