Plea for more support services after almost a third of Norfolk and Suffolk GPs say there is little point diagnosing dementia
Norfolk and Suffolk Dementia Alliance launch event in Norwich. Willie Cruickshank of Norfolk and Suffolk Dementia Alliance
.Photo: Steve Adams
Adam Gretton Health correspondent Friday, November 22, 2013
11:36 AM
Calls have been made to improve support for people with dementia after almost a third of Norfolk and Suffolk GPs surveyed said there was little point in diagnosing the condition because of a lack of support services.
NHS chiefs have called on the dementia diagnosis rate, which is currently around 40pc, to be raised to 66pc by 2015.
However, the results of a new survey by the Norfolk and Suffolk Dementia Alliance, revealed that 29pc of GPs questioned said that there was little point in diagnosing people with dementia because there were inadequate or no support services in their area. More than 100 GPs from across Norfolk and Suffolk responded to the questionnaire, which was coordinated by the University of East Anglia.
Councils may have to outsource ‘low-level’ assessments to free up social workers, say sector leaders
Large hike in assessments on back of Care Bill reforms is likely to lead to two-tier system with some cases outsourced to charities or providers
Councils may have to outsource low-level assessments to free up social workers for more complex cases and deal with a big hike in demand arising from care funding reforms.
That was the message from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass), the Local Government Association (LGA) and council chief executives’ body Solace, in their response to the government’s consultation on the reforms, under the Care Bill.
Councils are expected to assess an additional 180,000 to 230,000 people and carry out an additional 440,000 to 530,000 reviews in 2016-17, because the reforms will incentivise many more self-funders to approach their council.
Only by having their needs assessed and regularly reviewed will self-funders be able to take advantage of the £72,000 cap on their eligible care costs that is the centrepiece of the government’s funding reforms. This would provide them with an “independent personal budget”, setting out what their council would spend on their care if it were meeting it, which would accumulate in a “care account” until they reached the cap.
Encouraging ‘Young Carers’ Is Unacceptable
The carers movement talk about how much money they have saved the government
Over the last decade there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people who are regarded or regard themselves as carers, due to a strong carers movement that has the support of this government. Those who were regarded as spouses, parents and siblings are now just regarded as carers, and while family members may sometimes be wrong, society believes carers always know best, even when it is far from the case.
