By Lucy Phillips
14 January 2010
Millions of pounds of funding for improving care for people with dementia is probably not being spent on relevant services, the National Audit Office has warned.
The government allocated £150m to kick-start its five-year national dementia strategy, published last year – £60m was added to baseline budgets for 2009/10 and £90m for 2010/11. But ministers did not ask primary care trusts to account for how they are spending the money, auditors reveal in a report published today.
Karen Taylor, director of health value for money studies at the NAO, said: ‘A number of PCTs we talked to did not recognise they had been given the extra money and currently could not explain how they had spent it. It’s very unclear how this money was being spent or if it was being spent on dementia.’
The NAO calls for clearer tracking of the money by PCTs and for the funds to be ring-fenced – similar to the way they had been for the national stroke strategy in 2007.
The Department of Health is also criticised for reneging on commitments to make dementia services in England an official national priority. Despite government rhetoric, the £1.8bn national strategy was at ‘real risk’ of not being achieved because of lack of leadership and impetus. This was particularly the case when it came to making savings from acute hospital and long-term care in a time of financial constraint, the NAO said.
The number of people with dementia in England is expected to double to 1.2 million within 30 years. Yet cost estimates have not taken into account the extent of the increase in demand for services and the need for staff training, auditors found.
‘Almost every health professional comes into contact with patients who have dementia yet there is still no requirement for basic training in how to understand and support them,’ said report author Antonia Gracie. Improving training was ‘something the DoH has yet to get a grip on’, she added.
The DoH insisted that dementia care was a government priority but said it was for PCTs to decide how they provided services, according to local needs. Training needs for frontline staff were also being addressed, a spokesman added.
Care services minister Phil Hope said: ‘Change will not happen immediately. There is still much more to be done and we are working hard to put the plans outlined in the strategy into place.’
14 January 2010
Millions of pounds of funding for improving care for people with dementia is probably not being spent on relevant services, the National Audit Office has warned.
The government allocated £150m to kick-start its five-year national dementia strategy, published last year – £60m was added to baseline budgets for 2009/10 and £90m for 2010/11. But ministers did not ask primary care trusts to account for how they are spending the money, auditors reveal in a report published today.
Karen Taylor, director of health value for money studies at the NAO, said: ‘A number of PCTs we talked to did not recognise they had been given the extra money and currently could not explain how they had spent it. It’s very unclear how this money was being spent or if it was being spent on dementia.’
The NAO calls for clearer tracking of the money by PCTs and for the funds to be ring-fenced – similar to the way they had been for the national stroke strategy in 2007.
The Department of Health is also criticised for reneging on commitments to make dementia services in England an official national priority. Despite government rhetoric, the £1.8bn national strategy was at ‘real risk’ of not being achieved because of lack of leadership and impetus. This was particularly the case when it came to making savings from acute hospital and long-term care in a time of financial constraint, the NAO said.
The number of people with dementia in England is expected to double to 1.2 million within 30 years. Yet cost estimates have not taken into account the extent of the increase in demand for services and the need for staff training, auditors found.
‘Almost every health professional comes into contact with patients who have dementia yet there is still no requirement for basic training in how to understand and support them,’ said report author Antonia Gracie. Improving training was ‘something the DoH has yet to get a grip on’, she added.
The DoH insisted that dementia care was a government priority but said it was for PCTs to decide how they provided services, according to local needs. Training needs for frontline staff were also being addressed, a spokesman added.
Care services minister Phil Hope said: ‘Change will not happen immediately. There is still much more to be done and we are working hard to put the plans outlined in the strategy into place.’
