Dementia patients in the UK are being let down by lack of support from National Health Services (NHS) and social care in the UK, a new poll of over 1,000 family doctors has found.
The poll carried out by Alzheimer’s Society and findings detailed in the report Dementia 2015: Aiming higher to transform lives reveal that over three quarters of GPs (77 per cent) believe that their patients with dementia rely on family as they don’t get enough help from health and social care services. Further, 73 per cent believe their patients are forced to depend on friends, neighbours and other unpaid carers for support.
The poll found that half of GPs (50 per cent) don’t think their patients with dementia get enough support from the NHS while over two thirds (67 per cent) of GPs don’t think their patients with dementia get enough support from social services.
Alzheimer’s Society has warned that too many people with dementia are being let down by a system which fails to meet their needs and says that government’s commitment to dementia needs to be met by a fully-fledged national action plan for the 2020 challenge.
The poll also found that seven in ten GPs say people with dementia are left unsupported because of a shortfall in accessible local services, and a further 61 per cent say lack of cooperation between the NHS and social care acts as a barrier to patients getting support.
The survey suggests patients’ lack of access to services may be undermining a national drive to improve rates of dementia diagnosis. Over a quarter of GPs (27 per cent) admitted they would be less likely to refer people with suspected dementia for diagnosis if support services are not in place.
Some of the other key findings include:
- Less than one in ten GPs say people with dementia get enough statutory support to deal with loneliness and maintain a good diet
- Only one in four doctors (27 per cent) believe the NHS and social services give people with dementia enough support to tackle anxiety and depression
- 73 per cent believe patients, families and carers are left confused by the health and social care system
- Nearly a quarter of GPs (23 per cent) said they haven’t had sufficient training in dementia to give them a good understanding of how to manage a person with the condition
Key Findings from patients’ perspective
- Nearly 7 in 10 (68 per cent) of respondents said that they felt they were living well with dementia. 15 per cent said they were not and 17 per cent said they did not know.
- Despite this positive outlook in people’s overall feeling, 53 per cent of respondents survey said they had felt anxious or depressed recently. 36 per cent said they had not and 11 per cent said they didn’t know.
- The feeling of anxiety or depression was highest among those who had started experiencing symptoms most recently.
- 49 per cent of respondents said their carer did not receive help. 39 per cent said they did and 12 per cent said they didn’t know.
- Half of people (49 per cent) of people with dementia said they were not getting enough support from the government.
- 75 per cent of people who responded to the survey said that they had another health condition in addition to dementia.
Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said that the survey gives a stark view from the doctor’s surgery of people with dementia left struggling in the aftermath of a diagnosis. GPs report an endemic and deeply worrying lack of support available from health and social services, with relatives left to pick up the pieces alone.
Hughes acknowledges that family and friends are a vital support system for dementia patients, but says that they mustn’t be relied on to do everything.
“As dementia takes hold, people with dementia and their carers look to statutory services to give them the back-up they desperately need to cope”, Hughes said.
“With the number of people with dementia expected to grow to one million by 2021, there is no time to waste. Today’s findings reinforce the urgency of putting in place meaningful care and support for all people with dementia.”
The report urges the government and agencies to aim higher to transform the lives of people with dementia. It warns that a gathering ‘momentum of change’ will be lost unless statutory and voluntary sector agencies redouble their efforts to improve dementia care.
Key recommendations include:
- NHS England and local authorities to ensure everyone diagnosed with dementia is entitled to a full package of support including a Dementia Adviser
- A single point of contact to help carers navigate the health and social care system
- All hospitals, care homes and home care to be dementia friendly
