Today
the Government announced a G8 Summit on Dementia.
While
every effort to raise awareness of dementia has to be welcome, the tone of the
press release announcing the event shows that the Government is more interested
in cutting the cost of dementia rather than helping those who suffer from the
condition.
The
press release quotes Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying,
“Dementia requires long-term health and
social care support that can be hugely expensive. Currently 70 per cent of the
global cost is incurred in medically advanced nations like Western Europe and
North America. But nearly 60 per cent of people with the condition live in
developing countries. As their populations grow and age, the pressure on their
services and budgets will inevitably increase.” &
“The G8 today have a unique chance to come
together to help people manage dementia better, lead healthier lives and
deliver real improvements in care and substantial economic savings.”
Yes the increase of the numbers of people with
dementia will put pressure on budgets but, surely, the primary focus has to be
how to give people with the condition the best possible quality of life as the
disease takes hold.
Yes we need to find ways to eradicate dementia
but we also need to help people NOW rather than solely focus on cures that
could be many decades down the line.
Yes there are still economic troubles yet to
focus on the cost of dementia rather than improving care and support for those
who need it now is a shameful way for a Government to act. Social care funding
has decreased year on year for at least the last five years and the costs of
providing social care have spiked – food and energy inflation have a huge
impact on care provision – and the Government has done little to redress this
issue.
The press release today effectively labels
those with dementia as a cost burden to the State and I hope action will be taken
immediately to apologise and redress this.
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