Nottingham's Vicky McClure has shared a video calling on all MPs to "cure the care system" after reports that the government will delay the care cap. The Line of Duty actor released the video on her Instagram on Wednesday, October 19, during which she speaks directly to MPs and asks them to imagine trading their life in politics for a life as an unpaid carer for someone with dementia as she calls on the government to reform the social care system and back dementia with more funding.
The video describes the emotional, financial and physical struggles faced by thousands of families who are trying to get support for loved ones with dementia, leading Vicky to call on the Government to ‘Make Dementia a Priority’. The video comes after reports that the cap on the sum people pay for care in old age could be postponed by a year as Jeremy Hunt considers delaying the Government’s flagship social care reform.
This reform is expected to be a crucial first step in protecting care home users, of which at least 70% have dementia, from catastrophic care costs. Speaking in the video, Vicky tells MPs: “You worked hard, you have an important job, you got elected.
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"You have the power to make real change. Now imagine, waking up tomorrow and having to give that all up… to become a dementia carer for a loved one.
"Your days now revolve around an illness not your career. Instead of your morning coffee briefing, you’re making sure your partner doesn’t choke on their breakfast.
“You don’t need a coffee - even though you only got three hours sleep - because you’re running on adrenaline and dread. Instead of being interviewed by journalists you’re being interviewed by a social worker, trying to get £69.70 a week - that’s now your salary.”
Line of Duty star Vicky then ends the video by making a direct call on the government. She said: "Make dementia the priority it needs to be.
"Give people living with dementia, and their loved ones caring for them, the diagnosis and then support they need. Give them what they need to live a better life, from things like music therapy, support groups and breaks for carers. You need to cure the care system.”
Vicky’s work has featured in the two-part documentary 'Vicky McClure: Our Dementia Choir Sings Again' which has been airing on BBC One over the last fortnight. People with dementia are the biggest users of social care, as 70% of people in care homes and 60% of people getting care at home have dementia.
Decades of underfunding have led to a care system that is difficult to access and costly. Vicky’s video highlights the under-paid, overstretched care workers in the sector, who struggle to make ends meet as living costs spiral, meaning people with dementia could face being abandoned without the care they need.
Vicky said: "Those wonderful people you now rely on, those care workers, they’re switching careers too - because they’re utterly broken by the workload. They’re leaving to work in supermarkets, in restaurants.”
Officials from the Alzheimer’s Society have echoed Vicky’s calls and are urging the Government to rethink, following the reports that a flagship social care reform, the cap on care costs, could be delayed. Alex Norris, Labour and Co-operative MP for Nottingham North, agrees that something needs to be done. He said: "Years of underfunding has meant our social care system is broken.
"A lack of prioritisation mean we haven't invested enough in dementia research. Labour has committed to fixing social care and to double funding for dementia research."
Mark Spencer, Conservative MP for Sherwood, said: "I would like to thank Vicky for the work she is doing to highlight the need for more support in our social care system including dementia care. I welcome the PM's commitment today in PMQ's to social care reform and will give my support to those to ensure we give people who require care the support they need and deserve."
Research by The Alzheimer's Society shows that 900,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, and by 2025 one million people will be living with the condition. The society is the only UK dementia research charity to fund both biomedical and care research, funding research in dementia diagnosis, treatment and care, and is a funding partner of the UK Dementia Research Institute.
Mark MacDonald, associate director of advocacy and system change at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Vicky’s heartfelt video is a rallying cry to Government to make dementia a priority. She paints a stark picture of the reality of dementia care and support for thousands up and down the country, she has been through it with her grandmother and she sees it up close with the members of her wonderful choir.
“We need to cure our broken care system which is failing many families living with the reality of dementia. Government must not roll back on the care cap. This social care reform was a crucial first step to tackle catastrophic care costs, limiting the amount people had to pay towards their care.
"People with dementia are the biggest users of social care, at least 70% of care home users have dementia, and this delay would be a damaging blow at a time when many of them will be struggling with bills and need action on the cost of care too."
He continued: "We welcomed the Government’s vision last year to ensure everyone with dementia can gets high-quality personalised care. But it was only a vision and with reports that Government may roll back on its flagship commitment to introduce a cap on care costs in 2023, we at Alzheimer’s Society are deeply worried that the commitment to realising that vision has waned.
"We need to see the Government delivering on its commitments, including on the cap, and matching its ambitious vision for quality care with investment to make it a reality, to ensure providers and their amazing staff are equipped to deliver for people affected by dementia.
“While Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Jeremy Hunt himself said the Government’s plans for investment in social care were ‘a disappointment given the extent of the crisis in social care and the predicament of people whose quality of life is dependent on a solution being found’. We don’t appear to be any further towards a sustainable solution. In fact, these latest reports suggest the Government is preparing to actually roll back."
Mark added: “Not investing in social care is a false economy which not only adds to the uncertainty and distress felt by those using the system, but places even greater pressure on, for example, the NHS. We have seen the dire consequences of underfunded social care and we must get sustainable investment in as soon as possible. The Government must prioritise dementia, prioritise social care and think again.”
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