Burnham: Dementia Care Lags Behind Cancer Support, Vows Wage Increases for Caregivers

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stated that dementia patients are treated worse than those with cancer, and has pledged wage increases for caregivers who he says are on "poverty pay."

Burnham, whose father Roy died from dementia last month, expressed that Britain is not adequately supporting individuals diagnosed with the disease and their families. Speaking on Natalie Cassidy's podcast, "Life with Nat," Burnham criticized the low wages in social care, revealing that one of his father's carers had experienced homelessness.

He is working to establish a National Care Service, which he stated would offer better pay and career advancement opportunities for care workers.

"I'm not sure as a society we're set up at all yet to support people with dementia - a shocking journey, really, when you get a diagnosis and then you're told 'there's nothing we can do,'" Burnham said. He agreed with Cassidy's observation that individuals are often left to manage on their own after a dementia diagnosis.

"You are," Burnham confirmed. "We have a situation where the world is set up to support, when you hear the word cancer and everything clicks in, and that's great, and it should be like that. But we won't be ready for the 21st century until we support people with dementia as well as we support people with cancer. And that, in the end, is what we've got to do."

These remarks follow similar criticisms from Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, who accused the NHS of treating dementia patients as "second-class citizens" who are "cast aside." The Daily Mail and Alzheimer's Society have launched a campaign to defeat dementia, which is Britain's biggest killer, claiming 76,000 lives annually. The campaign aims to increase awareness, early diagnosis, research, and the quality of care.

Burnham has endorsed the campaign and pledged government support in memory of his father. He shared that his father's care needs placed a significant strain on his mother, who received insufficient home support, including brief 15-minute care visits that became inadequate as his father's condition worsened.

"Sometimes people look at the person who's got the dementia or whatever it might be and they don't see what's happening to the person around who's… and I think if we're honest, we took a while to work out that my mum really couldn't, was not in a sustainable position," Burnham stated.

He advocated for a different model of home care that supports individuals in their own homes and helps family caregivers sustain their roles.

When asked if the National Care Service would improve pay for caregivers, Burnham responded affirmatively, stating, "I'm not going to avoid that question because that is a crucial question and the answer is yes."

He reflected on his experiences with his father's carers, noting their dedication despite receiving "poverty pay" while holding "a broken system together." Burnham expressed that these caregivers have been "let down" by the system for a long time.

Burnham acknowledged the difficulty of balancing his father's death with the demands of his new role, describing the experience as "intensely hard."