Andy Burnham urges better support for families caring for people with dementia

Andy Burnham has called for more support and recognition for unpaid dementia carers, describing how his mother became exhausted while caring for his father, Roy, who died from Alzheimer’s aged 85. He said his family focused so closely on his father’s condition that they overlooked the strain on his mother, and may have waited too long before arranging residential care.

Burnham backed a campaign supporting a new network, Dementia Carers Together, which plans to offer nationwide six-week courses with the Alzheimer’s Society. The sessions will provide information on carers’ rights and available services, as well as opportunities to meet others. The article says 2.5 million people in the UK provide some care for people with dementia, and four in five have reached crisis point at least once; Burnham also criticised 15-minute home-care visits as inadequate for some families.