In response to the UK Parliaments’ Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) Inquiry “supporting those living with dementia and their carers” the Government has announced it is writing a new Dementia Strategy for England.
The HSCC Inquiry was centred on the experiences of those living with dementia and their carers, particularly how the social care system is supporting them. The Inquiry notes that individuals diagnosed with dementia are often unable to access the care they truly need, whilst facing significant care costs.
The inquiry took evidence from many stakeholders including carers for individuals living with dementia. Estimates are that at least 200,000 people in England are not in receipt of any funded or professional support. To remedy this and other inadequacies of the social care system the HSCC had previously encouraged the Government accept its recommendation in favour of a £7bn annual increase in social care funding.
Jeremy Hunt MP, chair of the Health and Social Care Committee has welcomed the government’s plan to publish a discrete Dementia Strategy. The MP’s welcome was not without caution however:
“We remain concerned that the funding and workforce crisis in social care that affects so many of those with dementia will not be resolved by the extra investment the Government has committed to date. Too many families will still face catastrophic care costs and too many local authorities will not be able to sustain services at the levels most of us would consider essential for our own loved ones - so unless it covers funding shortfalls in particular, it is unlikely to make the changes hoped for."