Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Greengross (Crossbench). It was answered on Monday, 14 December 2009.

Health: Dementia

Question: I thank the Minister for that Answer. At present, up to a quarter of hospital beds are currently used by older people suffering from dementia, with unacceptable variations—as I am sure she will accept—in the quality of care they receive. Recently, both the National Audit Office and the Alzheimer’s Society highlighted opportunities for significant NHS cost savings in hospital care which could be more effectively reinvested in workforce development and community services if care for dementia patients was moved into appropriate services in the community. Will the Government be taking this recommendation forward and, if so, how?

Answer: The noble Baroness points to an important problem. As I said in my Answer, the problem here is the complexity of dealing with someone with dementia in hospital. For example, if someone is admitted with a broken leg and then diagnosed with dementia, a whole new health team and social care kick in. It is not straightforward. However, that is not an excuse for adding to the length of the stay in hospital or for there not to be adequate care. We are committed to the National Dementia Strategy, which has been the focus of debate in your Lordships’ House on more than one occasion, and we are working closely with the Alzheimer’s Society on its implementation. An important part of that implementation is dealing with people who have dementia and who are in hospital. No doubt money could be saved. However, this is not an appropriate target to set because, ultimately, clinical decisions will have to be taken by the doctors concerned.

Secondary information