Cost of dementia and social care in Peterborough set for huge rises in next decade

The latest figures for Peterborough estimate care costs will rise from their current level of £84 million to £142 million in 2030, while in Cambridgeshire the projected rise is from £348 million to £623 million.

Moreover, in Peterborough social care costs are forecast to rise from £37 million to £65 million by 2030, an increase of 76 per cent.

The prediction has been highlighted by the Alzheimer’s Society which is calling for immediate social care investment to be a key pillar of the Government’s forthcoming Budget on March 11.

The figures, calculated by the London School of Economics and Political Science, combine costs to the NHS, social care and the value of unpaid care provided by family members.

Across England, it is estimated that around 60 per cent of social care costs are typically met by people living with dementia and their families because they do not qualify for state support.

As part of its ongoing Fix Dementia Care campaign, the Alzheimer’s Society is demanding urgent investment, backing calls for £8 billion in extra funding for adult social care in England by 2020/21.

The charity estimates at least £2.65 billion of that amount could be spent on care for people living with dementia to improve the devastating financial and emotional impact they and their families face when accessing care.

Rosemary Brotchie, Alzheimer’s Society regional public affairs and campaign officer, said: “The social care system is unfair and unfit for people living with dementia. Alzheimer’s Society is campaigning to end this injustice.

“We are calling on the Government to commit to £8 billion in immediate funding to bring care to an acceptable level, as well as a clear timetable for long-term reform that provides a fairer system and ensures access to quality care.

“For far too long families have been privately struggling to care for their loved ones with dementia, left to pick up the pieces of a social care system that’s coming apart at the seams. This can’t go on any longer. The Government must live up to its promise to fix dementia care.”

Across England, care costs are predicted to rise from their current level of £29.4 billion to £50.4 billion by 2030, an increase of more than 70 per cent.

At the same time, the number of people living with dementia across the UK is expected to rise from around 850,000 to 1.2 million by 2030.

The report predicts that as our population ages, a higher proportion of people with dementia will have higher care needs for longer, driving up the average amount spent on care.

Previous research by the Alzheimer’s Society has shown that someone with dementia will typically have to spend £100,000 on their care. Many are forced to sell their homes to pay for it.

The Alzheimer’s Society is calling for dementia care to be funded like other public services, such as the NHS and education, where the cost is shared across society, protecting individuals and their families from the devastating costs of specialist dementia care.

The charity has released a hard-hitting animated film telling the story of one family’s financial plight to get the care their loved one with dementia needs.

To find out more about the Alzheimer’s Society’s Fix Dementia Care campaign, visit alzheimers.org.uk/FixBudget.