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Councils must give staff the opportunity to train so they are ready to deliver the National Service Framework for Older People, national director for older people's services Ian Philp said last week.

Speaking at a Department of Health conference, Philp said it was up to trainers and managers to ensure staff were able to take time out from front-line work to learn about the NSF and develop the skills and competencies required. He predicted that this would lead to services improving and people having more time and confidence.

Philp described older people's services as a government priority and called for steps to implement the NSF for Older People to be taken immediately.

"It is not a sprint, it is a marathon," he said. "But any race has an end-point. We do have a two- to three-year period to change things. Given that we have a high priority, we should be taking that first step now."

The NSF for Older People was published in March and outlines eight national standards to improve the quality of care for older people.

Philp said most social and health care professionals had reacted positively to the NSF, but they wanted to know the direct implications for them in their daily work and what resources would be available to implement it.

The DoH is currently informing people about the NSF via campaigns in conjunction with older people charities, as well as meeting with relevant training bodies and with health and social care managers on local implementation teams.