Charity demands action on broken care exposed by Panorama

The call comes ahead of shocking footage to be shown on BBC's Panorama tonight, which shows serious abuse of a vulnerable person with dementia at a care home previously rated excellent by the CQC.

Andrew Chidgey, Director of External Affairs at Alzheimer's Society said:

'The case of abuse that happened at Ash Court care home is a disgrace and must never be allowed to happen again. It is absolutely right that the person at the centre of the abuse has been sent to jail. Despite the tremendous work by a large number of care providers and care staff there are still far too many examples of poor practice. It is time for a root and branch reform of how we provide care in this country.

'Today we are issuing a call for immediate reform. The new dementia champion group on health and care formed last month must work quickly to stamp out abuse.'

The action that is being demanded by the charity is:

1. The government must respond to the care funding crisis
2. All care homes should sign up to the Prime Minister's Dementia Challenge
3. Local authorities must set stronger requirements for dementia training and quality
4. The Care Quality Commission should re-introduce public ratings for homes and enforce greater transparency of performance
5. The government should investigate strengthening the role of lay inspectors

Andrew Chidgey continued:

'People with dementia, their carers and families deserve the best care possible. It's a tragedy that the news today will have made it harder for people with dementia and carers to consider care as a good option when in many cases it can be a positive experience.'

Ends

Notes to editors:

• One in three people over 65 will die with dementia
• Alzheimer's Society research shows that 800,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer's disease. In less than ten years a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051
• Alzheimer's Society champions the rights of people living with dementia and the millions of people who care for them
• Alzheimer's Society works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Alzheimer's Society supports people to live well with dementia today and funds research to find a cure for tomorrow. We rely on voluntary donations to continue our vital work. You can donate now by calling 0845 306 0898 or visiting alzheimers.org.uk
• Alzheimer's Society provides a National Dementia Helpline, the number is 0845 300 0336 or visit alzheimers.org.uk
  

Press Office 0207 423 3595 Email: press@alzheimers.org.uk