Alzheimer’s Society Calling On Care Homes To Find Out Coronavirus Challenges

Alzheimer’s Society is asking care home workers to complete a short set of questions to find out the challenges they face in dealing with the coronavirus health crisis. The answers will be used to inform charity’s urgent campaigning calls to the Government, following today’s release of statistics from the ONS showing a 300% rise in care home deaths.

More than 400,000 people are living in care homes in the UK and 70% have dementia, many with other underlying conditions. With 95% of people with dementia being over 65, many are extremely vulnerable to contracting the virus. However, reports from care homes show that testing for residents and care home staff is not routinely taking place so far, and that many staff still do not have access to PPE, putting both staff and residents at risk.

Kathryn Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Alzheimer’s Society said,

“Care homes have become the ‘forgotten front line’ in the fight against coronavirus. Following our urgent letter to Matt Hancock, we are keeping a close watch to make sure the Government’s plans to help care home residents are backed up by actions and not just words. To do this successfully, we need your help and opinions to make sure we’re prioritising the most urgent issues affecting care homes today.”

To take part in the survey, please follow the online survey link