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Dementia cases predicted to rise

by 50pc in 10 years

EDP Report

(EDP – Britain’s Regional Newspaper of the Year)

 

ADAM LAZZARI,
Wednesday,
26 January, 2011… 12:00 PM

 

The number of people suffering with dementia in Norfolk is to increase by almost 50pc in the next 10 years, experts have predicted.

A report from the Alzheimer’s Society has claimed that a quarter of a million people with dementia are being let down by care and support that fails to meet their needs. Pictured: Delia Fox who cared for her husband Bill who had dementia until he died last year.A report from the Alzheimer’s Society has claimed that a quarter of a million people with dementia are being let down by care and support that fails to meet their needs. Pictured: Delia Fox who cared for her husband Bill who had dementia until he died last year.

A report released by the Alzheimer’s Society yesterday stated that there are currently 12,311 people living with dementia in Norfolk and predicted there will be 18,282 by 2021.

The charity claims that the steep rise will be due to spending cuts and is calling on commissioners to think long term and invest in dementia services and training to keep more people out of hospitals and care homes and to save the NHS and councils from bankruptcy.

Paul Dunnery, East Anglia and Central Area Manager of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “There are more than 60,000 people in the East Anglia area who are living with dementia and that number is likely to reach nearly 90,000 by 2021.

“It is essential that good quality dementia care is available to all people living at home who need it. However, this report highlights that there are many concerning gaps in service – and the situation is now facing the challenge of spending cuts. Many people with dementia are being forced into care homes and hospitals against their will because of substandard care. We must empower home care workers with dementia training, enough time to deliver good care and support from health and social care professionals.”

Norfolk has the second highest rate of dementia of the nine areas in the Eastern region listed in the Alzheimer’s Society report.

Essex was reported as having the highest number of people with dementia, currently 15,267 and estimated to be 21,962 by 2021 and it was stated that Suffolk currently has 9,110 people living with dementia, predicted to be 13,448 by 2021.

The report, called ‘Support. Stay. Save. Care and support of people with dementia in their homes’ is based on a national survey of 1,436 people with dementia and carers and 989 home care workers.

It concluded that 250,000 people across the country with dementia are being let down by care and support that fails to meet their needs.

Results showed that 44pc of carers in East Anglia said the person with dementia was not receiving sufficient care and support with many speaking of people being left bedridden, wearing unchanged incontinence pads and malnourished.

And 49pc of carers in the region were also being put at risk of stress, depression and other serious illnesses because they were being left to struggle without support.

According to the report, this substandard care will result in 50,000 people in the UK being forced into care homes early.

For each avoidable month people with dementia spend in care, the tax payer will face a bill of at least £70 million.

Tens of thousands more will be admitted into hospital unnecessarily.

Actor Kevin Whately, who is an Alzheimer’s Society ambassador, who wrote the report’s foreword, said: “I know from caring for my mum just how much care and support people with dementia can need to help them live a quality life in their own home.

“We were fortunate that we had access to some excellent carers and the difference they made to my mum’s life was immeasurable. It pains me to think that there are so many people out there struggling alone. This is an unacceptable situation that we can’t let continue.”

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said: “The Alzheimer’s Society is right to turn the spotlight on home care for people with dementia. While there are some outstanding services, as this report demonstrates too many people with dementia and their carers feel let down.

“What needs to be done to put things right is not rocket science, it requires compassion, common sense and a determination to treat people as people, not boxes to tick.

“This is not about spending more it is about spending better. We know we are already spending at European levels but not achieving the right results. As this report shows there would actually be savings made if people were helped to stay at home for longer.

“Early diagnosis followed up with proper planning can deliver much better personalised support for families. That is the approach the government has spelt out in its dementia action plan which placed a new focus on local quality outcomes and local accountability for delivering them. This will be achieved in part through greater transparency in services to ensure that people have the information they need to understand their local services, how these compare to other services, and the level of quality they can expect.”

 

CASE STUDY:
“It could have been so different.”

Delia Fox, 81, from Waveney Close, Wells, cared for her husband Bill who had dementia until he died last year.

Mrs Fox, who gives talks to Alzheimer’s Society groups, said: “Bill was first diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2004. Both Bill and I knew absolutely nothing about it and a lady from the social services visited our house and talked to us for two hours before telling us that she was sorry but she couldn’t do anything for us. We had a repeat visit about a year later and were told the same thing.

“I just had to look up information about it on the internet myself and my daughter also found lots of information.

“But I always felt one step behind because I was totally unprepared to deal with the situations I would have to deal with as his condition worsened.

“There were times when Bill did become violent. It got to the stage where he could not communicate properly and he got so frustrated he would wave his arms around. There was also a time when we were lying in bed and he put his arms around my neck. He was a big, strong man and I feared he could break my neck. I just stayed completely still and quiet and he let go after a few minutes, but I was totally unprepared for this.”

She added: “One day Bill fell into the television. He was taken to hospital and he only had a minor kidney infection that was easily dealt with. He should have been able to come home after 10 days. But the doctor asked me what help I was getting and when I told him, none at all, he said he would see what could be done.

“I was later told that social services would send two people three times a day to our home to help. A few days later I was told this would be one person and then, two days before he was to be discharged, I was told they could give me no help. Bill had stayed in hospital for five weeks, when he could have been released within 10 days. We spent this time waiting for what turned out to be no help from social services.”

Mr Fox died in his home, on June 8 last year, aged 84.

Mrs Fox said: “Bill would have wanted to die at home, but the end of his life could have been so different if we had the right support.

“I read a piece in magazine recently about a carer who was given a person to call whenever she had a problem to deal with and that person sought advice from various professionals and got back to her. That would be the ideal situation but I had never heard of this before. I just felt completely isolated.”