title: Work on acute wards requires specialised dementia education.
abstract: The nurses interviewed in this study recognised the challenges associated with caring for people with dementia in acute wards. They saw it as particularly difficult when the person was agitated, aggressive or likely to wander and believed that part of the problem was the over-stimulation of the busy ward environment. The situation was particularly difficult at visiting time when the number of people on the ward suddenly increased. Quality dementia care can be achieved with limited resources but nurses working in acute wards may lack experience in this kind of care and specialised dementia education is essential.