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Dementia 'tax' affects thousands

26/06/2008

Thousands of people with dementia have to pay large amounts of money for basic care, according to a report published today.

The study from the Alzheimer's Society found that over two-thirds of people with dementia pay for basic care including help with washing, dressing and going to the toilet.

The majority of people are paying at least a £100 a week towards the costs of care while people with dementia who are living in care homes are hit the hardest, with over half of people paying over £300 a week towards their care.

Just half of people with dementia who live at home are getting all the help from social services they services they need.

The study's findings are based on an Alzheimer's Society survey of over 2,300 people with dementia and their carers in England.

They have been released as the government consults on its first ever dementia strategy, which is due to be published this autumn.

The charity argues that the current system of means testing for social care is a tax on people with dementia whose care is deemed to be social care, rather than health care free on the NHS.

Alzheimer's Society chief executive Neil Hunt said: "The dementia tax is persecuting thousands of people from all walks of life who are being hit hard by a system that provides poor care at a huge cost.

"It is not unreasonable to ask people to make a contribution towards the cost of their care but people will not pay to prop up a broken system that fails to deliver quality care.

"We must scrap the dementia tax and gain a political consensus on a move towards a transparent, sustainable and fair system."

Writer AA Gill, an Alzheimer's Society ambassador, said: "Dementia is not a natural part of ageing and can strike any of us.

"One in three of us who live to be over 65 will die with condition, yet the way we treat people with dementia is one of the nation's biggest social scandals.

"As a diagnosis of dementia robs people gradually of their lives, they are being robbed of their finances to pay for vital care and support. It's time to scrap the dementia tax and introduce a system of care that is simple to understand doesn't discriminate based on condition or age and provides good quality care."