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.'

For further information, contact Gayle Wing, Alzheimer's Society press office.

Notes for editors

• Ivan Lewis MP was speaking at a Commission for Social Care Inspection conference in London on 29 June 2006.
• The Alzheimer's Society is the UK's leading care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers.
• Over 750,000 people in the UK have dementia. More than half have Alzheimer's disease.
• Dementia affects one in 20 people over the age of 65 and one in five over the age of 80.
• There are 18,500 people in the UK under the age of 65 with dementia.
• For information and advice on Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia call the Alzheimer's Society national helpline on 0845 300 0336.