In 2019 people with dementia continue to be denied free care – which we believe is a national scandal.
Why have we allowed this disease, which is nothing short of an epidemic, to fall through the cracks of NHS funding?
On Tuesday 25 June 2019, the All Parliament Parliamentary Group Dementia Report is being published. Many euphemisms are used when talking about dementia but let us be clear – dementia is a disease and a disability.
In 1948 the National Health Service (NHS) was set up to provide for the treatment of injuries, infections and diseases, free at the point of use.
But that’s a fact that is conveniently ignored when care costs are considered. Who says? The Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD). The Equality Act also prohibits discrimination and yet they are both ignored.
The CRPD exists to protect and promote the human rights of disabled people. You would think this was enough ‘law’ to protect a person and their savings from inequality. We wish this was true but sadly it’s not.
There is no cure for dementia currently, yet the cost of care for those affected by this disabling disease is not paid for by the NHS.
Instead, the cost of care often falls upon those who have paid their taxes all their lives. How 850,000 people in the UK can be denied state-funded NHS care, known as Continuing Health Care, is utterly incomprehensible.
When we break down the numbers and look more closely at the 850,000 people with dementia the facts are even more shocking:
- One third of these people are not even aware that they have the disease
- One in 14 people over the age of 65 have dementia and there are at least 40,000 under the age 65 who have it
- By 2051 (in just 30 years’ time) the number of people expected to have dementia, will be 2 million
Dementia is a disease but when it comes to NHS funding it is not treated equally. In contrast, diabetes, in particular Type 2, which can be linked to lifestyle choices is recognised as a disease and the costs of any complications are covered by the NHS.
Diabetes causes blindness, strokes, heart disease, kidney failure and amputation. Dementia robs a person of themselves and removes their ability to make decisions.
In many instances people with dementia are not supported by the NHS and have to fund their care by selling their home, an asset that would be protected if they contracted a disease such as cancer or heart failure.
Since an epidemic is defined as a “widespread occurrence of disease in a community at a particular time” why on earth are the rights of 850,000 people in England being ignored?
Why are they being forced to jump NHS hurdles and fight an unfair postcode lottery in their battle for free Continuing Health Care which was promised to us all as being free at the point of need?
At Steene Law, we understand that dementia steals everything and yet the Government and our NHS still do not appear to recognise that:
- Dementia is a disability
- Dementia robs people of the ability to make choices
- Dementia removes the ability to make your own decisions
Every day we speak to the families of people with dementia. They cannot understand why this epidemic of a disease is not routinely covered by Continuing Health Care.
We have all paid our taxes expecting that if we become ill, whether through an accident or a disease, then the State will look after us.
We commend Debbie Abrahams MP and Baroness Sally Greengross OBE, for their work as co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia.
But now the Government needs to stop simply talking about it and instead take action.
It’s high time for dementia to be brought within the scope of diseases that the NHS pays for.
We say #no more postcode lottery for continuing healthcare.