Dementia Support Line
Alzheimer's Society response to the Casey Commission on adult social care
Baroness Casey’s Commission, an independent commission established to reform adult social care in England, has today announced its Terms of Reference. Alzheimer’s Society welcomes this progress.
Professor Fiona Carragher, Alzheimer’s Society’s Chief Policy and Research Officer, said:
Around one million people are living with dementia in the UK, making them one of the biggest groups relying on social care.
“Dementia is progressive and there is no cure. It affects people in different ways so it is essential that care is tailored to the individual.
Around 70% of care home residents aged over 65 in England are living with dementia, yet only 29% of care home staff have received any dementia-specific training. This means that in a huge number of cases care home staff are unable to provide the tailored care that people with dementia deserve and rely on.
Addressing long-standing issues
Alzheimer’s Society is pleased to hear that Baroness Casey’s Commission is beginning to make progress, and we stand ready to offer our support and expertise.
The Commission urgently needs to find solutions to some of the long-standing issues in adult social care such as the lack of dementia-specific training, high staff turnover and a lack of support for unpaid carers.
People living with dementia must be able to easily access affordable, high-quality social care that meets their specialist needs, delivered by a well-trained and fairly-paid workforce.
Baroness Casey must keep dementia front and centre to her Commission – we simply cannot fix social care without fixing dementia care.”
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