The way in which we support older and more vulnerable people in our community, and the social care which is available to them is an issue which has been growing in recent years as the population ages and lives longer.
Delivering much-needed social care reform is vital, and my Conservative colleagues and I will be engaging constructively with the Government to achieve this reform. Sadly, the Chancellor’s decision to pile the pressure on social care providers with the Jobs Tax, and the abandonment of Labour’s election promise to deliver a cap on social care costs is preventing the social care sector from focusing on delivering care for patients.
However, there is some positive news for those living with dementia in Brentwood as the Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) is expanding a pilot scheme it ran in Thurrock to enable dementia patients and their loved ones a chance to meet other people going through the same experience of a recent diagnosis, and to learn more about the services and support provided by organisations across Essex.
The Living Well with Dementia group will be open from March to patients in Thurrock and Brentwood who have recently completed the Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) programme provided by the Older People Day Treatment Service, which is based at Thurrock Hospital.
I look forward to hearing how the group grows and helps those facing all that a dementia diagnosis means for them and their families and wish the group every success.