Social Care Reform Threatened by Brexit Turmoil

With the New Year just days away, the country is still in turmoil over the all-consuming Brexit debate. Whilst that may be understandable up to a point, the national crisis over our future relationship with the EU has meant some key domestic issues have been kicked into the long grass.

Written by: Ken Oxley  
Alzheimer's Society
North East & Cumbria





Social care reform threatened by Brexit turmoil
 
 
With the New Year just days away, the country is still in turmoil over the all-consuming Brexit debate.
Whilst that may be understandable up to a point, the national crisis over our future relationship with the EU has meant some key domestic issues have been kicked into the long grass.
One such issue is the Government’s much-anticipated Green Paper on social care reform. It was due to be published in the autumn, but that deadline came and went.
Now we’re told it will be published ‘at the first opportunity in 2019’ – a statement that smacks more of lip service than a firm commitment.
It is unacceptable to leave the UK’s 850,000 people with dementia, including more than 4,800 in Northumberland, as well as their families, facing hard to access, expensive, and often poor quality care.
The human cost of these delays is grave. People with dementia are often stuck unnecessarily in hospital due to a lack of care in the community.
They are also rushed to A&E with avoidable emergencies resulting from poor care, sent home from hospital in the middle of the night to reduce delayed discharges, and forced to sell their possessions to pay for the catastrophic costs of social care.
It shouldn’t and needn’t be like this. There will be one million people living with dementia by 2021 – they can’t continue to fight both the system and the condition.
Government attention and dedication must see health and social care reforms through, and finally deliver – bold action is needed, and needed now.

• Ken Oxley is Media Officer for the Alzheimer’s Society in the North East and Cumbria.