Scandal of the 55,000 Alzheimer’s OAPs in A&E
Social care system fails sufferers
THE number of over-65s with dementia being admitted to A&E because of avoidable emergencies has risen 70% in six years.
Experts blame savage social care cuts. A charity has uncovered 55,000 such visits to casualty in 2017.
The figures, revealed in a report after being released under Freedom of Information laws, are for 65 of the roughly 150 NHS trusts.
Jeremy Hughes, of the Alzheimer’s Society, which is behind the report, said: “Starved of the care they need, people with dementia end up in A&E as a last resort... It shouldn’t and needn’t be like this.” The admis- sions were due to dehydration, falls, delirium, urinary tract infections and chest infections – things that can be prevented by basic social care. In the past six years the Government has cut council budgets by 40%, leading to social care services being slashed. The extent of the avoidable admissions shows the social care system “is not fit for purpose”, the NHS Confederation said. The Department of Health and Social Care said: “No one with dementia should have to go into hospital unnecessarily and we’re determined to continue to drive up standards of care. We have invested £50million to make hospitals and care homes dementia-friendly.”