Families living with dementia deserve better - Alzheimer's Society responds to the Care Quality Commission's State of Care report

Gavin Terry, Head of Policy at Alzheimer’s Society, said:

'The CQC’s report today paints a shocking but sadly not surprising picture of the current state of care in this country. A gridlocked system, a workforce at breaking point and a lack of long-term planning and investment is failing people living with dementia, by far the biggest users of social care.  
 
'We heard reports earlier this week that Government is set to delay a flagship element of its social care reform agenda – the care cap - but this report lays bare how urgently Government must prioritise fixing this broken system.

Not investing in social care is a false economy which simply piles pressure and pounds onto other areas of healthcare, from people living with dementia rushed to A&E due to a lack of support, to hospital beds filled with people waiting for care in the community.   

'Families living with dementia deserve better. They need support from a workforce that’s supported to have the knowledge, skills and understanding to provide high-quality dementia care. Instead, we have an overstretched and under-resourced workforce where hard-working staff struggle to deliver good, safe care.

'With the average care worker earning just £9.50 an hour, it’s no wonder vacancies sit at a staggering 165,000, and are expected to rise further without action to address the root causes.

'The Government’s £5.4bn for social care over three years doesn’t even scratch the surface of what is needed. We need long-term sustainable investment, better pay, mandatory training on dementia and a ten-year People Plan to ensure the social care workforce is suitably skilled, supported and sustainable.'