Only 12 of 35 dementia units promised by 2023 Australia-wide are operational, health department says

The Specialist Dementia Care Program was announced in 2016 and promised 35 new dementia units by 2023. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/The Guardian

Just 12 of a promised 35 specialist dementia units the government committed to have running by 2023 are operational, a health department spokesman has said.

To respond to a growing number of people with dementia and suffering from severe behavioural and psychological symptoms, the federal government in 2016 announced the Specialist Dementia Care Program [SDCP].