Businesses braced for dementia care crisis to hit workplace

Charity warns full extent of strain on workers juggling jobs and care commitments could be masked by dementia ‘stigma’

 

Businesses braced for dementia care crisis to hit workplace

The lack of professional care for people suffering dementia is threatening a staffing crisis for British businesses as workers are forced to cut their hours or quit to support loved-ones, new research shows.

Nine out of 10 companies fear their business will increasingly be affected by the knock-on effects of dementia on families, according to the study by the business group “Employers for Carers”, which was set up by the charity Carers UK

Seven out of 10 firms which responded said they are braced to lose highly qualified staff because of caring commitments while two thirds fear it will impact their workers’ own health or productivity.

Already more than 90 per cent of those surveyed said they were aware of staff with caring commitments, primarily for elderly parents or other loved-ones with dementia. Yet the study found evidence that the stigma around dementia could mean that some workers have not told their employer.

Around 6.5 million people in the UK provide some form of unpaid care for family members and Government estimates suggest that the number looking after someone with dementia will grow by a quarter to 850,000 by the end of this decade.

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, warned last year that Britain is facing “substantial economic loss” if companies do not have a radical rethink of working practices.

A poll of 1,000 current or recent carers found that more than half (53 per cent) believed their caring responsibilities had already had a negative impact on their work trough factors such as tiredness, anxiety or stress etc. Meanwhile more than a quarter of those currently caring fear that it was likely to affect their capacity to work in the future.

Heléna Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK, said: “The employers and carers we work with are telling us the same story as the statistics – that dementia and the impact on employees of caring is a key issue for workforce retention, recruitment and resilience. “Very often the need to care for an elderly parent comes at peak career age.

“Without the right support, the challenges of combining such caring with work (often also with other family responsibilities) can quickly become too difficult to manage. Employees with valuable experience and skills will then either leave their jobs or struggle to cope in the workplace.

“The experiences from carers and employers captured in this research show that the current support needs of people caring for loved ones with dementia are not being met, especially by care and support services.”

She added: “This lack of support is compounded by a perceived stigma around dementia, often reported by carers, which explains why it remains such a hidden issue in so many workplaces.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/elderhealth/10719216/Businesses-braced-for-dementia-care-crisis-to-hit-workplace.html