The health and social care select committee has called on the government to increase funding and policy focus on supporting people with dementia.
In its Supporting people with dementia and their carers report, the committee heard evidence that 200,000 people with moderate and severe dementia in England do not get any kind of funded or professional support.
Projections show an increase in the number of people who will be living with dementia and increased costs of dementia care.
The number of older people living with dementia in England will increase to around 1.35m by 2040 and the total cost of dementia care is projected to reach £80.4 billion by 2040, up from £29.5 billion in 2019 when nearly half of this spending went on social care (45.8 per cent).
The select committee said it is disappointed the government has not provided greater funding for social care in the immediate future.
It urged ministers to accept its recommendation from a previous report for a £7 annual billion increase in funding for social care by 2023-24 as a starting point.
The report makes key recommendations, including the health department and NHS England and Improvement use the forthcoming white paper on social care to develop clear guidance on the care and support those living with dementia and their carers should expect to receive, from diagnosis through to lifelong post-diagnostic support.
“This guidance must encourage integrated working across the health and social care system while also establishing clear responsibilities for Integrated Care Systems in coordinating care,” the report states.
“Alongside this, there must be appropriate data collection along the whole dementia pathway to monitor activity and support improvement. We expect an update on this work by the end of November 2021.”
Committee chairman Jeremy Hunt (pictured) welcomed the government’s new health and social care levy but said people living with dementia will continue to remain unprotected until 2023 at the earliest.
“The extra funding announced in the Budget for local authorities is welcome but it’s not clear how much will be set aside to support the growing costs of providing social care,” he added.
“Fundamental reform of the social care system must be tackled by the government in its promised white paper and until we see warm words turned into action, families living with dementia will continue to face an unbearable situation.”
