Lack of funding sees at least 1,400 people with dementia spending Christmas in hospital

Topics covered: Ridouts professional advice

Due to underfunding, there is a lack of available care homes and home care for people with dementia and many are being made to spend Christmas Day in hospital, despite being fit enough to go home.

The Alzheimer’s Society has said those with dementia are being delayed in hospital up to 10 times as long as those without the condition. The cost of this to the NHS was around £170 million in 2016.

Wards are being used as waiting rooms and as a result the safety of people with dementia is being jeopardized. With statistics telling us that 1 million people will have dementia by 2021, it goes without saying that the government need to take this into account for the next coming years, in order to help control this increasing demand. The non-inclusion of money for adult social care in the Autumn Budget appears to have had a knock-on effect, and this has to change next year.

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