Summary
The Alzheimer’s Society’s “Hidden Cost of Dementia in Wales” report is an overview of the research conducted by the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the London School of Economics.
The estimated hidden cost of dementia in Wales (financial and human) in 2013 was £1.4 billion per year, at an average cost of £31,300 per person per year. The statistics in brief:
- NHS healthcare costs: estimated £196 million.
- Social care costs (whether publicly or privately funded): estimated £535 million.
- Other costs (including police missing person enquiries, advocacy services and research): estimated £6 million.
“ …people with dementia, carers and their families currently shoulder around two-thirds of the costs themselves. This amounts to £298 million for private social care, and £622 million in providing unpaid care to people with dementia”. (p.2)
Unpaid care carries of 74.8% of the total cost burden from people with dementia living in the community, and 45.7% of the overall costs arising from the dementia population in Wales.
Reference
Hu, B. Wittenberg, R. and Knapp, M. (2015). The hidden cost of Dementia in Wales. London: Alzheimer’s Society / PSSRU at the London School of Economics, July 3rd 2015.
Dementia UK: Update (2014)
The above document summarises and builds upon research published earlier in the “Dementia UK: Update” report (2014). This aimed to calculate the societal cost of dementia in Wales and thereby inform policy development, commissioning and service design. For further details, refer to:
Reference
Dementia UK: Update. London: Alzheimer’s Society, November 2014.
This relates to:
Reference
Prince, M. Knapp, M. [and] Guerchet, M. [et al] (2014). Dementia UK: Update. Second edition. London: Alzheimer’s Society / PSSRU at the London School of Economics, November 2014.
Background Interest: Some Loosely Related PSSRU Research
Some related analyses by the same team, possibly also of interest:
Full Text Link (Note: This article requires a suitable Athens password, a journal subscription or payment for access).
Reference
Dixon, J. Ferdinand, M. [and] D’Amico, F. [et al] (2015). Exploring the cost-effectiveness of a one-off screen for dementia (for people aged 75 years in England and Wales). International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, May 2015, Vol.30(5), pp.446-52. (Click here to view the PubMed abstract).
A further report of likely interest:
Reference
Knapp, M. Comas-Herrera, A. [and] Wittenberg, R. [et al] (2014). Scenarios of dementia care: what are the impacts on cost and quality of life? London: Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics and Political Science, June 2014.
