News
Critics Slam Dementia Tax
Thousands of people with dementia are being forced to pay large amounts for vital care, which is often poor quality, according to a new report published today.
Over two thirds of people with dementia are paying “Dementia Tax” for basic care such as help with washing, dressing and going to the toilet that they require as a result of their medical condition. The majority of people are paying at least £100 a week towards the costs of care, according to the Alzheimer's Society.
The charity says that the current system of means testing for social care is a tax on people with dementia whose care is deemed to be social care, rather than health care free on the NHS.
Dementia can be devastating for those who develop the illness and the families that care for them. There are currently an estimated 700,000 people in the UK with dementia, and this figure is expected to double in the next 30 years.
Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common type of dementia, is one of the biggest causes of disability in later life, ahead of heart disease, strokes and most types of cancer. Yet Alzheimer’s Disease is usually swept under the rug.
The survey of over 2,300 people with dementia and their carers found that people with dementia living in care homes are hit the hardest, with over half of people paying over £300 a week towards their care.
And two thirds of people caring for a person at home pay for vital care too, with one in three paying over £50 a week. The biggest cost was for help with personal care such as eating, washing or using the toilet.
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of carers who use respite services in care homes have to pay towards the costs of this vital break, with one in three paying over £150 a week, and only half of people with dementia who live at home are getting all the help from social services they need.
Charging affects people from all backgrounds. The report found that 40 per cent of manual and service workers are contributing more than £300 per week towards their care.
“The dementia tax is persecuting thousands of people from all walks of life who are being hit hard by a system that provides poor care at a huge cost,” said Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society. “The horrific truth is that the current charging system leaves vulnerable people who have a devastating and incurable condition to pay for essential help. We hear from people who have to pay for care out of money they need to heat their houses and buy food.”
Writer AA Gill, an Alzheimer's Society Ambassador says that dementia is not a natural part of ageing and can strike anyone.
“One in three of us who live to be over 65 will die with this condition, yet the way we treat people with dementia is one of the nation's biggest social scandals,” said Gill. “As a diagnosis of dementia robs people gradually of their lives, they are being robbed of their finances to pay for vital care and support. It is time to scrap the dementia tax and introduce a system of care that is simple to understand, doesn't discriminate based on condition or age and provides good quality care.”
ADVERTISEMENT - Article Continues below
Edwina Jarvis, who cares for her father Raymond, says that he had an accountancy business and was exceptionally frugal, ensuring that he and her mother had savings for their old age.
“He paid tax and national insurance throughout his life. Never in his wildest dreams did he anticipate needing to live in a specialist nursing home and pay £40,000 a year out of his own pocket for the privilege,” she says.
“This high cost only pays for basic care. On several occasions we have found him sitting in his own urine and he often gets meals like spaghetti hoops and turkey twizzlers. It is heartbreaking to see that my father has been robbed of his life savings to pay for this, simply because of the way his illness is classified.”
Health Minister Ivan Lewis has outlined proposals to provide more help for people with dementia, as he launched the first ever National Dementia Strategy. To find out more about the plan, Click Here.
Angela Clayton-Turner cared for her husband for nine years before finally relinquishing him to a care home. She spoke to Keepthedoctoraway.co.uk about her experience as a carer and how her relationship with her husband changed. To read the interview, click here: Living with Alzheimer’s: A Carer’s Story.
Recently, best-selling author Terry Pratchett pledged $1million – around £500 000 – to UK charity the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, in a bid to help find a cure for the devastating disease, with which he was diagnosed in December 2007. To read more, Click Here.