Health Secretary: 'We need a national debate on charging for care'

At a meeting with the Alzheimer's Society in Leicester, carers told the Health Secretary that the current system is unjust and forces people with dementia to pay thousands of pounds for vital care, such as help with eating, washing and using the toilet.

Patricia Hewitt MP replied,

''We need to have a debate on funding of care like we have had on pensions, about how we share the costs of an ageing population. It is completely unrealistic to expect all personal care to be provided on the state. We need to have a combination of tax funded and individual funded care.'

The Secretary's comments follow a previous statement by Health Minister Ivan Lewis MP in June. The Minister said,

'We can't have a credible, mature debate about the future of social care without a debate about who pays for what.'

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, says,

'This is great news. The current system of charging punishes people who have serious medical conditions like dementia. Means testing vulnerable older people for essential care is a national scandal. The Secretary now needs to turn her words into action and announce a timetable for this debate.'