Dr Graham Stokes has been appointed Bupa's first Director of Dementia Care.
The move sees Dr Stokes take up a full-time role driving forward the quality and scope of care for people living with dementia in Bupa's care homes in the UK, Spain, New Zealand and Australia.
Dr Stokes was previously a consultant clinical psychologist and head of specialty for older people's mental health and adults with neurodegenerative disease at South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. He has been an adviser to Bupa Care Services as head of mental health since 2002.
Managing Director of Bupa Care Services, Mark Ellerby, said:Graham is a leading expert in person-centred care for people with dementia and we are delighted that he has joined us full-time. I am certain that his insights will further help to ensure that our residents around the world achieve the best possible quality of life.
Dr Stokes has written widely on the subject of caring for people with dementia. His latest book, 'And Still The Music Plays: Stories of People with Dementia', was published in 2008. Bupa is the UK's largest provider of dementia care and 70% of its care home residents are state-funded.
Dr Graham Stokes said:People living with dementia often have challenging needs, and their dependency and vulnerability grows when they approach the end of life. It is vital that care homes stay true to our person-centred principles and aspiration to provide supportive lifestyles for them. My ambition is for Bupa to be a leader in training its dementia carers, to be the expert provider of care for people whose needs are complex and show that people with severe dementia can live well.
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About Us
Bupa’s purpose is longer, healthier, happier lives.
A leading international healthcare group, we serve 13 million customers in more than 190 countries. We offer personal and company-financed health insurance and medical subscription products, run hospitals, provide workplace health services, home healthcare, health assessments and chronic disease management services. We are also a major international provider of nursing and residential care for elderly people.
With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare and fulfil our purpose.
Bupa employs more than 62,000 people, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Poland, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, China and across Latin America.
For more information, visit www.bupa.com.
