Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan is supporting a call by the Alzheimer’s Society for a £2.4bn Dementia Fund to cover “unfair” care costs.
The MP has backed calls to the Health Secretary Matt Hancock proposing the idea during Dementia Awareness Week, met with local volunteers supporting people with dementia and as part of a release of an Alzheimer’s Society report outlining the proposal.
Speaking after joining local people and volunteers who support the work of the Alzheimer’s Society in Portsmouth, Stephen Morgan MP said:
“I am working with other MPs committed to improving support for people with dementia. We are calling for concerted government action to tackle the dementia care crisis.
A Dementia Fund could provide help to remedy the situation for people with dementia, while we wait for the much-delayed Green Paper. A long-term sustainable funding solution for social care is much overdue”.
With few treatments available for people living with dementia and no cure in sight, social care is the majority of care people will get after a dementia diagnosis. It means basic support to eat, wash, dress and take their medication. For most people, this kind of quality care is actually the only form of treatment they have available.
People with dementia are the largest users of social care: 70% of care home places are occupied by people with dementia, and 60% of people receiving homecare have dementia.
This means that social care is undeniably a dementia issue. When we are talking about social care, we are essentially talking about dementia care.
In its Fix Dementia Care report, the Alzheimer’s Society calls for urgent investment in high quality, person-centred care through a dedicated Dementia Fund to end the dementia penalty face when paying for care.
The report reveals that dementia care costs are 15% more than standard care costs with people typically spending £100,000.
Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“If you develop cancer or heart disease, your care is covered by the NHS. People with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have the right and expectation that the NHS will also support them.
We are calling for urgent investment in high quality care through a dedicated Dementia Fund. It’s time to end the dementia penalty that‘s preventing people from getting the care they need and deserve.”
You can support the campaign by visiting alzheimers.org.uk/fixdementiacare
