The Alzheimer’s Society regularly hears from people in England who have spent all their savings on care. Because there is currently no cure for dementia, most people get help managing the symptoms of dementia from the social care system, but this is expensive. People would have to save for 125 years to pay the typical cost of dementia care, which is GBP 100,000 (EUR 113,000). The Society has published new research demonstrating that care for people with dementia is often 15% higher than standard social care, because of the complexity of care. They are calling this the “dementia penalty” - the extra cost to support the needs of people with dementia as a result of the health condition they developed.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is committed to the principle of access based on clinical need, not on someone’s ability to pay. It is time people with dementia were treated the same as others, the Alzheimer’s Society stresses; and as part of its Fix Dementia Care campaign, they are calling for a GBP 2.4 billion (EUR 2.71 billion) Dementia Fund to be established. This would give extra funding to people with dementia, to end the penalty they face in paying for care. It would also help reduce the pressure on the NHS, with fewer people facing the crises that lead them to access emergency care. Finally, it would help care providers with the funding they need to provide innovative care, trained staff, and engaging activities.
There has been an enthusiastic reaction to the campaign, so far, with over 7,000 people emailing their Members of Parliament (MPs) to support the campaign, and over 100 MPs backing the call. The Alzheimer’s Society is calling on the Government to include a Dementia Fund in the forthcoming Spending Review, to break the deadlock on reforming social care and to end the unfairness people with dementia are facing.
“We’ve been waiting for decades for our government to properly reform social care - people with dementia cannot wait any longer”, said the society.