Services for younger people with dementia: problems with differentiating needs on the basis of age.

There is a growing movement to develop specific services for younger people with dementia. This article reports on an evaluation of one such service that was developed in response to a locally identified deficit in ‘age-sensitive’ care. The service was evaluated very positively by service users, and the staff on the project were keen to detail the differences that they had observed between the needs of their clients and older people with dementia. The clients’ responses, however, did not necessarily highlight age-specific needs; the comments were more about how the service was sensitive to individual needs. This suggests that the level of responsiveness offered by the team is much valued, but could also be a foundation for all services for all people with dementia, regardless of age. The study suggests, therefore, that the work of the team offers a model which could be applied across all client groups.