This report considers the training needs of non-specialist staff working with older people with mental ill health. It concludes that unqualified staff (and in many cases, their managers too) would benefit from a more comprehensive and ongoing approach to increasing their awareness of mental health in older people. This would assist them in recognising possible mental health problems and in promoting mental wellbeing, which would, in turn, lead to better understanding of the needs of older people, better communication, better care and improved health outcomes.