MPs call for better checks on how PCTs spend dementia strategy money

Only 31 per cent (22) of PCTs who responded to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Dementia said they had allocated their proportion of the £150 million made available by the government last year. The same percentage could not say how dementia strategy funds had been spent as they were inseparable from other funding.

Where spending was evident, the emphasis was found to be mainly on the development of memory services and early diagnosis. However other strategy objectives such as workforce development and improving care in care homes received less attention.

The APPG today (Thursday 18 March) calls on dementia strategy funding to be better monitored and audited to ensure PCTs are spending the money to help people with dementia. Its report 'A Misspent Opportunity'provides the first detailed analysis of local level spending of dementia strategy funds.

Jeremy Wright, Chairman of the APPG for dementia, said:  

'It is very concerning how few PCTs can account for funding that should be being spent improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living with dementia. While evidence does exist of action being taken by many PCTs, it would seem the national dream of the dementia strategy is still a long way from being a reality at local level.

'Better checks on how and where money is being spent are essential if we are to make the most of this golden opportunity to stem the tide of dementia and provide people with dementia with the care and support they need.'

 Andrew Chidgey, head of policy at Alzheimer's Society, said:

'We are in the middle of a dementia crisis that is affecting the lives of millions of people across the country and costing the economy billions of pounds a year. The National Dementia Strategy for England puts this issue in the spotlight but we must now ensure that these invaluable words are translated into life changing actions. If this strategy is to be the success it so desperately needs to be, we need more accountability and stronger leadership both nationally and locally.'

The report also looked at the creation of joint dementia strategies between PCTs and local authorities. Although 90 per cent of respondents had a strategy in place or were developing them, they were not all yet in operation. The APPG is calling on this to be prioritised.

The APPG sent FOI requests to the 152 PCTs in England asking whether and how they had allocated their proportion of the £150million funding attached to the NDSE. 70 PCTs (46 per cent) replied before the deadline. They also asked a number of key stakeholders including Alzheimer's Society for their assessment of initial progress.