The population of the UK is currently around 64 million. Of that number, it is believed that some 850,000 have dementia. Some people believe the figure could be far greater than that, but 850,000 is a staggering number in itself. The cost of dementia is £26 billion per year, but this figure alone needs further explanation.
£17.4 billion of that £26 billion is paid by people with dementia and their families by way of unpaid care or paying for private provision. We as a population are living longer so this amount will continue to spiral. It seems to me, and more importantly to experts in the field, that governments of all colours have no strategy to deal with it. That’s because these things always cost money and lots of it. They will require difficult, long term decisions and politicians don’t like difficult decisions that impact anywhere near the next general election.
As a non expert, I would suggest doing nothing is not an option so the first thing I would do would be to combine the NHS with social care, straight away. It is a nonsense to suggest the two are not linked when they should be wholly intertwined. The Alzheimer’s Society says this: “Deep-rooted failings in a divided health and social care system leaves tens of thousands of people with dementia without the right support to do everyday tasks like getting dressed, eating and going to the toilet.” This will cost money but it costs money to have a civilised society. To merge health and social care would be a start and would, if properly managed, bring about savings, avoiding duplication of care, streamlining services. We have some big choices coming up.
I am constantly offended by what happens to many people when they develop this most cruel of diseases, particularly people who have done the right thing during their lives by having worked hard, paid taxes and scrimped and saved to buy a house which they would one day hand down to their children. But then, when things go terribly, catastrophically wrong, people suffer the double whammy of gradually losing their close relative and the house their parents’ always wanted to hand down. And to rub their noses in it still further, those who have saved nothing, didn’t buy a house – well, they get help anyway. There is no fairness here.
At the 2015 general election, the Conservatives promised in their manifesto to introduce a cap of £70,000 in care costs. I’d like to have seen a negotiation around that figure, but I’d have settled for it to start with. But once elected, what did Jeremy Hunt do? He quietly kicked the proposal into the long grass, deferring any decision until 2020 when – oh, yes: what a coincidence – there will be another general election. You see, it’s a big decision, it’s complex and it will cost money. “It can wait, “thought Mr Hunt. “Just slip the news out when something else is happening. There will be a minor fuss at first but don’t worry. Most people will forget about it long before we ask them to vote for us again. Anyway, many of those involved will be dead by then.” Cynical, me? You bet.
Above all, we need a cure for dementia. If more people are going to live longer, it’s imperative they live as healthily as possible, for their own good and for the country’s. And it’s the right thing to do. If you have ever met or lived with someone with Alzheimer’s, you see someone say goodbye long before they actually die. It is the cruellest of diseases, so cruel we must do everything in our power to cure it.
