The Alzheimer’s Society report warns that one in three care workers looking after those with dementia has no training in it, resulting in “harrowing” levels of distress being caused.

The charity said scandalous failings in care were going on “behind closed doors” by care workers who did not know how to respond to the needs of those with dementia.

More than 400,000 dementia patients receive care in their homes, but very few visiting care workers have been trained on how to help those with the condition, the report says.

Its research found elderly people left without food or water, and falling ill because care workers left them at risk.

One elderly man with Alzheimer’s disease was left to starve to 7st, after workers left him to live on biscuits and cold snacks, the report says.

Another pensioner with dementia was admitted to intensive care, after paid carers ignored warnings to remove out-of-date food from the fridge. The elderly woman was found barely conscious and face down after repeated stomach upsets and infrequent washing caused by a urinary tract infection.

In other cases, patients were left without a bath or shower for weeks, sleeping in wet or soiled bed sheets, or left to walk outside into the middle of the road at night because their homes were not left secure.

The new report is based on a survey of 1,200 people who are affected by dementia, a poll of more than 700 home care workers and Freedom of Information responses from 119 councils in England.

The survey of care workers, conducted in partnership with the union Unison, found that 38 per cent had not received dementia training.

Only 2 per cent of people affected by dementia said they believe home care workers were adequately trained.

The FOI requests revealed that 71 per cent of local authorities do not include an allocation for training within their contracts for homecare.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer`s Society, said: "Care scandals in hospitals and care homes have been well-publicised, yet unacceptable homecare practices are widespread and happen behind closed doors, hidden from public scrutiny.

"There is simply not enough money invested in the social care system.

"Homecare workers are crying out for more dementia training - without it their hands are tied behind their backs."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "England now has one of the highest dementia diagnosis rates in the world - now we need to make sure that everyone gets the highest quality care and support.

"Over 100,000 social care workers have already received dementia awareness training.”

Earlier this week, official figures showed dementia and Alzheimer’s are now the biggest cause of death in England and Wales after jumping by a fifth in a single year.

They overtook heart disease as Britain’s biggest killer, accounting for almost one in eight deaths recorded in England and Wales 2015 – a total of 61,686 people – according to the Office for National Statistics.

The milestone is a vivid illustration of the impact of the ageing society in Britain and underlines the changing pressures facing the NHS.

It comes amid growing calls for the Chancellor Philip Hammond to use his Autumn Statement to allocate extra cash to help tackle the crisis in social care following a string of warnings that care homes face going out of business.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s overtook heart disease as the leading cause of death among women three years ago but were only the third biggest cause of male death at the time, behind ischaemic heart diseases and cerebovascular diseases.

Last year alone the dementia-linked death rate jumped by almost 20 per cent among women and 16 per cent among men.

The ONS said the surge in deaths in which dementia and Alzheimer’s were listed as the underlying cause partly reflects longer life spans as well as greater awareness of the condition.

Cancers, as a broad category, remain the most common cause of death when analysed by disease group, accounting for 27.9 per cent of all deaths registered in England and Wales in 2015, ahead of circulatory diseases, such as heart diseases and strokes (26.2 per cent).

Although women traditionally live longer than men, the increase in dementia among men is further evidence of the gradual narrowing of the gap in life expectancy between the sexes as a result of changes in lifestyles in recent decades.

Elizabeth McLaren, an ONS statistician, said: “In 2015, dementia and Alzheimer`s disease became the leading cause of death in part because people are simply living longer but also because of improved detection and diagnosis.

“An updating of the international rules for determining the underlying cause of death is also a factor, with the increase in cases attributed to these conditions accompanied by falls in other causes.”

/Telegraph/

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