Alzheimer’s Society report reveals the human cost of a social care system crippled by cuts

News from our partners Alzheimer’s Society

Alzheimer’s Society is today (Tuesday 22 May 2018) launching a new report, Dementia – the true cost: Fixing the care crisis, at the Bob Jones Community Centre as part of the City of Wolverhampton’s Council’s Information and Advice Marketplace event.

The report highlights how decades of political inaction on social care reform by national government has left people with dementia, across the West Midlands and the UK, enduring inadequate care and crippling costs.

Presenting new evidence and testimony from people affected by dementia who attended a series of listening events, with one taking place in the West Midlands, the charity calls time on the social care crisis. They found that:

• People affected by dementia are facing catastrophic costs to pay for their care and support. They wouldn’t be expected to make this sacrifice if they had another medical condition
• People with dementia struggle to access the vital care they need in the first place
• Once people affected by dementia get support, their care is often poor quality.

Lee Allen, Services Manager for Alzheimer’s Society in the Black Country, said:

“Today’s report is a rallying call from the frontline – families affected by dementia – that enough is enough. Successive governments have shirked the issue of our broken social care system, leaving people with dementia to rely on services so starved of funding that they’re unable to protect them from harm and the doors of A&E, let alone provide specialist care and support. One million people will have dementia by 2021 – the Government must work out how it will deliver high quality social care to everyone with dementia who needs it, and at a fair price.”

Dementia – the true cost: Fixing the care crisis also highlights how tens of thousands of people with dementia each year are being admitted to A&E because inadequate social care is leaving them unprotected from falls and infections.

FOI requests to NHS Trusts in England revealed a sharp rise in emergency admissions over the last five years – up 70% since 2012, with more than 50,000 avoidable emergency admissions of over-65s with dementia in the last year alone.

While an ageing population and better data recording in hospitals has contributed in part to the rise, much of the 70% increase is thought to be due to inadequate care in the community piling pressure on A&E and ambulance services. In a similar time period there has been a 40% cut to council budgets responsible for social care funding, and the number of people accessing support has been steadily dropping, despite more people living with dementia than ever before.

At the listening events, Alzheimer’s Society heard from people who had been struggling for years, abandoned by a broken system, without any support or anyone willing to listen.

A former carer who attended the West Midlands event said:

“Mum didn’t want to keep being moved around because it does make them worse and when she was in the care home, she deteriorated so much that I just couldn’t wait to get her back home, just wash her hair, you know, just basic care like that.”

The charity outlines three urgent areas for the Government to address:

• Access  – everyone with dementia to have access to timely, preventative and integrated care and support
• Quality – all health and social care workers to be provided the training and support they need to deliver quality dementia care
• Cost – the cost of additional care charges for a health condition such as dementia to be covered by the state

Councillor Sandra Samuels OBE, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said:

“As a City which is working hard to support people living with dementia – and which has been awarded Dementia Friendly Community status by the Alzheimer’s Society as a result – we are pleased to have been asked to host the launch of this important report.

“Dementia is a debilitating condition which already affects over 3,000 people in the City of Wolverhampton, and it’s vital that everyone, from the Government downwards, works together to ensure people living with dementia get all the help and support they need.”

Alzheimer’s Society will have copies of the report available on the day and will have representatives present to discuss the report at their stall. There will also be representatives from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).

David Watts, Director of Adult Services at City of Wolverhampton Council said:

 “West Midlands ADASS are pleased to be working with Alzheimer’s Society to raise awareness about dementia and to highlight the great work that is going on in local communities across the region. Dementia Action Week also provides the platform to reinforce the strong message in the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia – the true cost report and we look forward to working with  Alzheimer’s Society to raise the profile of this issue regionally and nationally.”

To attend the event that is taking place during this year’s Dementia Action Week (21-27 May), visit the Bob Jones Community Centre, Bromley Street, Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, WV2 3AS on Tuesday 22nd May from 10am – 12.30am.

Further information

Alzheimer’s Society worked with 65 NHS Trusts who deal with emergency admissions across England to run audits on how many over-65s with dementia have experienced an emergency admission that could have potentially been avoided through improved and earlier support in the community. This included falls, delirium, chest infections, urinary tract infections and dehydration. FOI requests revealed that avoidable emergency admissions for people with dementia increased by 70% between 2011 and 2017, from 31,609 to 54,731.