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Dementia Sufferers

One of the benefits of the reshuffle is not only that I retain my job, but that, for the first time, I am responsible for all mental health provision in the Department, which means that I am responsible for the mental health of children, adolescents, adults and dementia as whole, which is one of the issues that I need to address in assuming those integrated responsibilities. I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman, and his question is a new question being asked of our society. Quite frankly, the system cannot cope with younger people who develop dementia. The hon. Member for Southport has also referred to that point. The third focus of the national strategy is on improving the quality of care, whether it is provided in people's homes, hospitals or care homes. I have a really important point to make here: there can be no excuse for the neglect of older people, whether it is on a hospital ward, in a nursing home or through a home care service. We must continue to campaign to put respect for dignity at the heart of all care services. I do not accept the idea that we should always blame a lack of resources. There are certain non-negotiables and practices in the way that older people are treated that bring nursing and the NHS into disrepute. I also believe, however, that managers, as well as front-line staff have a responsibility in this matter. Wards where more than 50 per cent. of the patients have dementia require different staffing arrangements from those where that is not the case. We pay NHS managers to make those decisions and to get that right. In the same way that there has been a debate about pupil-teacher ratios in the education system, we ought to have a debate, not about Ministers prescribing a certain number of nurses per patient on every ward in the country—that is not our job—but about managers, whose job it is to ensure appropriate staffing arrangements, especially if staff are having to cope with a ward on which dementia sufferers predominate, and if we want to give dementia sufferers high quality, personalised care. I agree with the hon. Member for Southport and others about offering an integrated service to the patient and family members. Service users—patients and family members—are not interested in whether the service is provided by someone who describes themselves as a health professional or a social care professional; they are interested in a joined-up, integrated service that is sensitive and that meets their needs. They do not want to be passed from pillar to post between different administrative structures, so we need clear lines of accountability and responsibility at a local level.