Over the last five years we have seen cuts to public spending in an attempt to reduce the deficit. Throughout this period we have been consistently reminded of the services that the government has sought to protect, such as the ringfencing of the NHS budget. If you fall ill, the mantra goes, be safe in the knowledge that the NHS will care for you – for free. However, this is not necessarily the case for the 850,000 people living with dementia. Despite being a medical condition, the needs of those living with dementia are predominantly met through social care. With local authority budgets taking the brunt of the cuts over the past five years and with the number of people with dementia set to rise to one million by 2020, how can we ensure that dementia care not only gets to those who need it, but is personalised to the individual and those around them?

With less money in the system and an increasing need, it is only logical to look to new innovative models or ways of delivering care that will benefit not only people affected by dementia but the health and care system as a whole. What people living with dementia urgently need is a personalised and integrated health and care system that puts them as individuals at the centre, for their carers to be well supported and for the communities that they live in to be dementia-friendly, protecting them from loneliness and isolation.

Dementia costs the UK economy £26.3bn a year. Yet we know much of this spend does not deliver value for money or better outcomes for people with dementia. Avoidable ‘bad costs’ associated with dementia, such as unnecessary hospital admissions, account for a significant proportion of this spend. In comparison, not enough is being spent on the ‘good costs’ associated with dementia, such as creating a dementia-friendly NHS or better support for family carers and integrated care.

Dementia is a complex condition meaning that people with it receive care from a range of health and social care services. Integrated care is therefore essential for people with dementia. Under the current system people with dementia typically access up to twenty different agencies and bodies to receive the care that they need. Integrating the health and social care system has the potential not only to improve outcomes for people with dementia but also to save money by reducing inefficiency.

As well as an integrated health and care system, we also need to ensure that those caring for people living with dementia are fully supported. There are currently estimated to be over 670,000 people in the UK acting as primary, unpaid carers for people with dementia. They save the UK economy an estimated £11bn each year. However, caring can be an overwhelming experience, bringing irreversible changes to lives and relationships. Providing carers with support can help to avoid carer breakdown, and therefore reduce emergency admissions to acute care or care home admissions. Ensuring that carers are well supported to carry out their caring duties will also ensure that people with dementia will be more likely to remain in their communities for longer.

Dementia can be a lonely condition that leaves people feeling isolated from their loved ones and communities. Alzheimer’s Society research shows that over 60 per cent of people living with dementia live in the community. However, nearly a quarter of people with dementia only speak to their family of friends face-to-face once a week. If communities are better prepared to help people with dementia live full and active lives then they will stay as part of their communities for longer, keeping them away from the NHS or social services. Alzheimer’s Society already had over 110 communities signed up to their Dementia Friendly Communities programme. Here communities across the country are working towards more inclusive and embracing environments for people with dementia. Every one of us can play a part in this work by becoming a Dementia Friend and raising awareness and understanding of dementia locally. The Dementia Friends programme aims to encourage everyone to take small actions that can make a big difference to people living in the community who are affected by dementia. Over a million people have already become a dementia friend and Alzheimer’s Society are now aiming to create four million by 2020.

Improving dementia care in an age of tightened budgets is a real challenge, but with the right focus and investment it is possible. Ensuring the health and social care system is integrated and personalised, that carers are supported and that communities are inclusive of people with dementia are steps in the right direction.

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Jeremy Hughes is chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society

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JOIN US FOR …

Dementia care: How do we improve this in an age of austerity? in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society
6pm, Monday 28 September 2015
Wagner Hall, Regency Road, Brighton, BN1 2RT

Luciana Berger MP Shadow minister for mental health
Angela Rayner MP Ashton-under-Lyne
Karin Smyth MP Bristol South
Sally Gimson Cabinet member for health and adult social care, London borough of Camden
Jeremy Hughes Chief executive, Alzheimer’s Society
Chair: Richard Angell Director, Progress

Refreshments provided. Wheelchair access available.