Alzheimer's Society pans dementia care failings

A leading charity has called on the main political parties to address failings in social care as concerns grow that budgetary pressures will see service standards fall.

A survey of nearly 1,500 carers and people with dementia by Alzheimer’s Society revealed significant concerns about the standards of care being provided. These included:

• Only 23% said all their care needs were met;
• Less than a quarter (24%) felt staff providing care had the skills and understanding necessary; and
• Only 12% of carers always had access to short breaks.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It is unacceptable for a care service to be failing such a vulnerable group to such a staggering degree. There are currently 700,000 people in the UK living with dementia. This number will increase to more than a million within 20 years. The vast majority of these people will need some level of social care so it is vital we have a robust system in place that meets their needs.”

Hunt said he was reassured by the fact that political parties were talking about adult social care, but insisted that there needed to be more detail.

“MPs have told us this is an important issue but we now need to hear guarantees on how each of the parties would provide a fair, transparent and high quality social care system,” he added. “This must explain how they will develop a social care system that is fit for tomorrow but also how it addresses failings today.”

Alzheimer’s Society set out three ‘demands’ for the parties’ manifestos: details of how they will develop a quality care service; a guarantee that attendance allowance will not be scrapped in favour of moving the money into care services; and a higher priority for dementia research.

The charity’s report comes a month after the chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, Cynthia Bower, said she was “deeply concerned” about the possible impact of lower spending on social care, and the prospect of councils raising eligibility criteria as public spending is squeezed.

In its first report since being set up, the CQC also called on local authorities to drive up care standards by purchasing from providers more effectively. It will introduce a new registration system for adult social care providers, NHS providers and independent healthcare. It will also have tougher enforcement powers.