Our comments on the launch of the 10-year plan for the NHS
Our Director of Clinical Services, Paul Edwards, comments on the launch of the 10-year plan for the NHS, which will see GPs, mental health and community care get the biggest funding increases to shift the focus away from hospitals.
The NHS 10 Year Plan is a welcome step in the right direction and it is pleasing to note that there is attention paid to preventing long-term health conditions such as dementia. However in order to put weight behind these proposals, there needs to be a serious commitment to providing more access to skilled professionals, such as dementia specialist Admiral Nurses, as well as moving away from cuts which have long marred the public health landscape.
The long-awaited adult social care Green Paper also represents the missing puzzle piece in this area. It is all well and good to focus on preventing conditions like dementia but we need to give due regard to people who are facing health challenges in the here and now. This is where social care comes in to help people through community support and timely help in the home. Allowing more access to funding for social care will undoubtedly help to relieve the pressures on a struggling NHS, ultimately leading to a more joined-up health and social care landscape. This is what we’re committed to doing at Dementia UK.
Read more about the 10 year plan here.