WIREDGOV

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responded to a report by the Alzheimer’s Society on the rising number of people with dementia admitted to A&E due to a lack of adequate social care

“This report is further stark evidence of the crisis in adult social care which cannot be ignored.

“To help reduce pressures on the NHS, social care needs to be given parity with the health service and councils need urgent funding to invest in effective prevention work to reduce the need for people to be admitted to hospital in the first place.

“Adult social care is in desperate need of both an immediate injection of money and long-term sustainable funding that secures care and support for older and disabled people now and in future generations.

“The funding gap facing adult social care is set to exceed £2 billion by 2020. The majority of this pressure is now with an estimated £1.3 billion of that shortfall needed to stabilise the care market.

“The Government must seize the chance to address these challenges in its Green Paper and deliver a water-tight solution to the long-term sustainability of the sector so personal, reliable and high quality care can be provided to the rising number of people who need and deserve it.”

View report:  Dementia – the true cost - Alzheimer's Society

Read more: Towards a sustainable adult social care and support system – an LGA think piece series