Hewitt commits to dementia

During an interview with Share, the Society's monthly membership magazine, the Health Secretary stressed the need for early diagnosis, dementia care training, end of life care, and of raising awareness of dementia in society as a whole.

She also told us that adult social care will be a priority in the Department of Health's negotiations with the Treasury over future government expenditure.

She agreed that social care has not seen the large increases invested in the NHS - despite the fact that needs are increasing.

Hewitt said, 'Social care funding will be a priority in the comprehensive spending review.'

While it will not be clear until the review is made public in summer whether the department's bid for extra funds for social care will be granted, more money in the pot would mean greater support for people with dementia and their families; something the Society has long been campaigning for.

The interview is published in full in February's Share.

What was said on different issues

Charging for care

Hewitt said the government is not proposing to move to a system of free personal care (help with washing, dressing and being fed, for example), as she believes it is not affordable and said there are other priorities to be met.

However, she said, 'This is clearly something that needs to be looked at. We are in the process of setting up an advisory group to help us to develop work and evidence on social care that we want to put to the Treasury.'

Training

She highlighted dementia care training as a very important issue.

She said her Leicester constituents had drawn her attention to the lack of understanding of dementia care among hospital staff, and that the government needed to look at the issue of dementia care training in the future and consider the cost implications.

Hewitt said, 'Some care given to people with dementia is superb, but there is real variation in the quality of care given to people with dementia who are in hospital for treatment for other conditions.

'I think dementia care training is a very important issue and I'm determined to get health and social care services working together on this.'

Early diagnosis

Asked what she would do if she could change one thing about dementia care, Hewitt said it would be improving early diagnosis.

Reminded about the recent NICE ruling that denies people in the early stages access to drug treatments, she said, 'This is a matter for judicial review at the moment. NICE had to make a very difficult set of judgments.'

Nonetheless, she said more emphasis needed to be placed on early diagnosis.

'It comes back to ensuring there is training and awareness of dementia among NHS and primary care staff, and ensuring we build up the quality of early diagnostic services.'

Care at end of life

Questioned on whether the Department of Health's end of life care strategy would address the needs of people with dementia, Hewitt said, 'Yes it will. It will address the needs of people with dementia and reinforce the need for early diagnosis.

'It will go well beyond the pioneering work with cancer to look at people with all conditions.

'The more one looks at palliative care the more one realises more emphasis is needed on early diagnosis, so a patient will know what's coming to them and can be engaged in deciding how they want to be cared for at the end of their lives.'

Carers

The health secretary referred to how the government had made moves to support carers, from introducing the carer's allowance to introducing better respite care, and setting out plans for a carer's helpline.

She said, 'I have always tried to recognise the contribution carers make.

'We need to find the right balance between what families do and what the state does.'

Raising awareness

Hewitt also stressed the need to raise public awareness of dementia.

She said, 'We know our society is ageing, and we know we already have large numbers of people with dementia, and that number is going to rise.

'It is an issue that one way or another affects all of us; whether we're already

caring for someone with dementia, or whether we've got elderly parents.

'Very few families aren't aware of someone who hasn't had some form of dementia.

'We need to engage the public and society in a debate about some of the big changes, and where we need to be going in the next decade.

'Dementia concerns all of us. It is an issue that no-one can really escape from.'