Published: Tuesday 28 February 2017 23,000 allegations of abuse made against home care workers revealed by BBC, Alzheimer’s Society comment

Today (Tuesday 28 February 2017) data from Freedom of Information requests submitted by the BBC Radio 4 programme File on 4 revealed more than 23,000 allegations of abuse have been made against carers working in people's homes across the UK.

Approximately 60% of all homecare is received by people with dementia. An Alzheimer’s Society investigation as part of the Fix Dementia Care campaign recently revealed more than a third (38%) of these workers have no dementia training, leaving it impossible for many to deal with the complex needs and communication issues many people with dementia face. Poor quality homecare is leaving too many people with dementia spending the day in soiled clothing, going without food or water, or ending up in costly hospital or care home admissions.

This has led to a vicious cycle where a lack of dementia training for homecare workers results in intolerable stress for people with dementia, families and carers – and for the homecare workers themselves.

George McNamara, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Alzheimer’s Society said: “It is scandalous to hear of such disturbing abuse and neglect of some of the most vulnerable people in society in their own homes, hidden from public scrutiny.”

“There is simply not enough money invested in the system to provide even the most basic care for people with dementia, let alone the specialist training needed to work with people often unable to make their needs known. Ahead of the budget, these scandals only expose, more than ever, the dire need for centralised government funding to prop up the current social care system, while a long-term solution is developed.”