---

Dementia Services

A few months ago, I visited a new memory clinic in south London that is an outstanding example of what our dementia strategy is all about. While I was there, I spoke to a married couple. The wife had been diagnosed with dementia and the husband was looking after her. They told me how they felt relief at finally getting the diagnosis and an explanation for what was happening to them, and said that since then, they had been more active and doing more things together than they had ever done. They were playing a fuller part in their community and seeing more of their family. The picture that they painted was of a couple living well with dementia, not dying of it. They had the knowledge and support that they needed to enjoy a good quality of life—life with a zing—and they were making the most of it. Thinking about that couple, I am pleased that Members such as my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer) and my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Mrs. Moon) talked eloquently about those living with dementia. They painted a picture not of inexorable decline but of people being able to live well and die well with dementia when the time comes. To find the right response to the challenges that exist, including the demographic challenges, we must start with the right attitude. We must open our arms to an ageing society, not wring our hands. We need to be positive about how we can help older people not simply to get by, but to flourish and live full lives in times of both health and illness. The title of the Conservative motion, with its reference to "the elderly", sums up how far the Opposition have to go in their thinking. It is a label that conjures up a stereotype of decline and dependency. In contrast, we are optimistic about what older people can do and what we can do for older people. We see an ageing society as a challenge, but also as a massive opportunity. It comes down to four things. First, we need better general support for all older people, so that they can enjoy their lives to the full. Secondly, we need more targeted support, allowing older people to live well and to live longer in their own homes if they become frail or unwell. Thirdly, we need stronger health and care services so that older people are safe and well supported. Fourthly, we need a deeper cultural change across public services and society at large, so that people are viewed as an asset and treated with dignity and respect. As a Government, we have made it a priority to provide additional support to every older person. Other Members have not mentioned this, but we must not forget the entitlement to a free national bus pass and free sight tests, or the winter fuel payments to help older people, particularly in the winter that we are experiencing. There is also extra help with pension tax credits. We are banning age discrimination in health and social care and building a society for all ages. We have appointed a new national clinical director not just for dementia but for older people, Professor David Oliver, a leader in older people's health care who knows how public services work. His influence will be critical in enabling us to ensure that all older people get the services that they need as individuals. We have debated in the House free personal care for people living at home with the greatest needs. It must be a shared view throughout the House that older people must be supported to live well and live longer in their own homes. Our work on prevention has been hugely successful, and we have seen best practice on matters such as preventing older people from falling over and getting fractures and improving access to services such as affordable foot care. There has been new guidance on intermediate care and new support for services such as audiology and telecare. Research has now proved that if we put a pound into prevention, to provide people with help in their own homes, we save £1.20 in acute care by reducing the number of people going into it. Our Personal Care at Home Bill will provide extra help to keep older people with the highest personal care needs in their own homes, and it has been widely accepted. It went through this House without opposition on both Second and Third Reading, and it is now to be debated in the House of Lords. It means that people who have had to run down their savings to be looked after in their own homes can now look forward to having the peace of mind of not worrying about whether they can pay for their care when they are at their highest level of need. Today, we have debated the dementia strategy—a national strategy, with an implementation plan, headed by our new national clinical director for dementia, Professor Alistair Burns. Our regional deputy directors oversee the strategy's delivery locally, and guidance for local commissioners has also been published, as our clinical director audits the services that are being delivered, including local memory clinics, memory centres and memory services.