The campaign for fair access to fully funded NHS continuing care for people with dementia

Alzheimer's Society is campaigning for fair access to fully funded NHS continuing care for people with dementia.

NHS continuing care is a package of care arranged and funded solely by the NHS. It can be provided in a range of settings, from an NHS hospital, to a nursing home, and people's own homes. It should be provided to people whose health needs are such that they are totally the responsibility of the NHS.

How can you support the campaign?

1. Contact your MP. Email your MP and ask them to press for an end to charging for care to be a key commitment at the next general election.

National framework

The Department of Health has published a new national framework for England of eligibility criteria for NHS continuing care.

The framework, which came into force on 1 October 2007, sets out a range of factors PCTs should consider when deciding whether someone meets the criteria for NHS continuing care. These include behaviour, psychological and emotional needs, and mobility.

Key points

The Society believes that the new framework, if implemented properly at a local level, should mean that some additional people with dementia will get access to fully funded NHS care. This is welcome.
We remain concerned that it will not end the postcode lottery of care funding, as eligibility is still likely to depend on local interpretation of the criteria.
Thousands of people with continue to pay for care that they need as a result of a physical disease of the brain. The current care funding system is broken and needs a complete overhaul. We need a national debate on who pays for care.

For further information, see the Alzheimer's Society briefing paper on the National Framework for NHS continuing care, published in June 2007