Government's rehashed dementia plans sum up why Jeremy Hunt has lost clinicians' trust

Government's rehashed dementia plans sum up why Jeremy Hunt has lost clinicians' trust The health secretary ignored the damage cuts have done to dementia care and prevention, instead crowbarring in his seven-day NHS and contracts agenda

As a specialist in the healthcare of older people, I read Jeremy Hunt’s announcement on dementia care with interest. Despite only being health secretary for England, he promised that “by 2020, the UK should be the most dementia friendly country in the world”. It’s a great soundbite, even if it is unlikely that such an ambition could be achieved, and the timing is clearly designed to coincide with the next election.

But this announcement is nothing new. The National Dementia Strategy and the appointment of the first national clinical director for dementia services were driven by Labour in 2009. And in a reduced form, this commitment was supported by the coalition government. This strategy included earlier diagnosis, better research funding to reflect the huge societal cost of dementia, enhanced support for people in care homes, improved care for people with dementia in acute hospitals and a commitment to reduce the prescription of unnecessary antipsychotic drugs. Some of these efforts have been effective and they all started well before this Tory government. Continue reading... The Guardian