Cost of Plymouth dementia care in city may rise by £2m

THE cost of looking after people in Plymouth with dementia could rise nearly £2million by 2012. The increase is a massive jump of more than 45 per cent in what the city pays to care for its rising population of dementia sufferers.

In 2008 there were estimated to be about 2,900 people with various forms of dementia in the city but only 37 per cent of them were being cared for by services in the city.

By 2012 there are likely to be more than 3,100 sufferers in Plymouth, Cllr Dr David Salter, the city council Cabinet member for adult social care, said.

Dr Salter told the council’s health overview and scrutiny panel: “This issue isn’t going to go away. It’s of huge national importance and costs more than heart disease, strokes and cancer put together.

“By 2012 we will have to find £1.72million of new funding if we do not reorganise the way services are delivered.”

He said there had been a stigma attached to dementia that stopped people admitting that a family member was a sufferer.

“It astounds me that the medical profession has been allowed to under-play this for so long.”

The council’s new strategy for dementia aims to increase to 50 per cent the proportion being given early primary care support so they do not have to go into a care home too soon, Dr Salter said.

“I really want to make this succeed. It is my top priority. Progress has been good, but it’s slow.”

Julie Wilson, primary care trust commissioner, said: “The numbers are coming and we need to prepare well in advance.”

Plymouth is one of the leading areas in the region for dementia care, with the only specialist extra care housing.

Panel chair Cllr Joan Watkins said: “It is an issue that will grow, simply because we are living longer.” She said that GPs were pivotal, but many were not good at recognising dementia.

“People go to their GP and say, ‘I’m concerned about Mother. She’s forgetting things’, and the GP says, ‘I know, we all get more forgetful when we get older’.”

Cllr Patricia Nicholson (Con, Peverell), a member of the panel, said: “A lot of people aren’t aware – as I wasn’t until recently – that there is treatment available.”

Dr Salter said: “There are all sorts of treatments, but no cure. We want the number who can benefit from treatment to go up from a third to the majority.”