Stop taking unpaid carers for granted
It’s high time to make access to social care fairer for dementia carers
Today’s Budget didn’t contain any details of desperately needed investment in social care. Unpaid carers are still being taken for granted. This has to stop.
Yet again the announcements made today will make no difference to the one million family dementia carers who are bearing the cost of an adult social care system in crisis. Yet again they have been left bitterly disappointed. Frances Lawrence, CEO, Dementia Carers Count
Dementia Carers Count CEO Frances Lawrence continued:
“Family dementia carers continue to save our economy millions but at great personal and financial cost. Every day we hear from dementia carers who are struggling to pay for care, who are cutting back on their spending, who are weighing up selling a family home, who are trying to understand what benefits they may be entitled to.
“Our dedicated team do their best to help carers maximise their income, but we know from our 2024 survey, that 80% of dementia carers are worried about the financial impact of caring.
“While we welcome this government’s emphasis on supporting people to remain at home and within their communities for longer, there was no detail today on how this will be funded and achieved. The responsibility cannot lie with unpaid carers. Successive governments must stop taking them for granted. Many are reaching crisis points themselves as their physical and mental health declines.
“Ring-fenced investment in social care is long overdue. Investment to date is not bringing benefits to the dementia carers we speak to.
“Increasingly, carers are frustrated at how unjust it feels to be left to struggle along alone without any social care support. It’s high time to make access to social care fairer for dementia carers.”
I run a dementia club and am finding families stuck between wanting to keep loved ones at home and being able to afford it. Dementia is terminal. There is no getting better. Give them the same free access to care, benefits and support as cancer. Dementia carer
About Dementia Carers Count
We campaign with dementia carers on the issues that matter to them. We also provide free, confidential practical and emotional support to carers, through online information and resources, support groups and our Carer Support Line. Call 0800 652 1102 Monday to Friday 9 – 5.
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