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Alzheimer's Society calls for action as cost of dementia soars

Alzheimer’s Society calls for action as cost of dementia soars

The cost of dementia to the UK has hit £26 billion a year – enough to pay the energy bills of every household in the country, finds a new report from Alzheimer’s Society.

Dementia UK: The Second Edition, prepared by the London School of Economics and King's College London, is a comprehensive review of dementia in the UK to date.

The report reveals how people with dementia, their carers and families are left footing a £5.8 billion social care bill for help with everyday tasks such as washing and dressing. The 1.3 billion hours of unpaid care that carers, usually spouses or adult children, provide would cost the state £11.6 billion if they did not provide it for free.

Meanwhile, the current cost of dementia diagnosis and treatment to the NHS comes in at £4.3 billion and local authorities pick up a further £4.5 billion.

The charity is now urging the government to end the artificial divide between health and social care which, it says, unfairly disadvantages people with dementia.

The new research also reveals that numbers of those affected by dementia is soaring. By the next general election in 2015, there will be 850,000 people living with dementia. If current trends continue and no action is taken, this number is expected to bypass two million by 2051.

In addition to Dementia UK, Alzheimer’s Society has published Dementia 2014: An Opportunity for Change which provides a snapshot of how well people with dementia are living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It draws together evidence from a survey of over 1,000 people with dementia.

The survey found that of those looked after by a carer, 43% said their carer received no help with their role. Seven out of 10 people surveyed also live with another medical condition or disability in addition to dementia.

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This new research exposes the staggering financial and human impact of dementia. It is plain to see that our social care system is on its knees, leaving an army of tens of thousands of unpaid carers bearing the brunt. If you have cancer or heart disease you can quite rightly expect that the care you need will be free. That is just not the case for people with dementia. Families are forced to break the bank to pay for basic care for a loved one.

“These spiralling costs cannot continue unchecked. 225,000 people develop dementia in the UK every year - that is one every three minutes. While government has woken up to the challenge dementia presents, today’s report reveals we need radical solutions and serious funding commitments to put social care on a sustainable footing.”

Alzheimer’s Society is calling for a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on dementia, which is scheduled to end in just over six months.

The charity wants to see a 66% national target for dementia diagnosis, with a commitment now to reach 75% by 2017. It also believes that no one should wait longer than 12 weeks from seeing their GP to diagnosis.   

Following a diagnosis, Alzheimer’s Society wants everyone to be guaranteed access to a Dementia Adviser (or equivalent) to help them live as well as possible at all stages of the condition. 

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