Care for dementia patients is still not receiving the "urgency and priority" it needs almost a year after the government unveiled a national strategy, a spending watchdog said on Thursday.
A lack of basic training and "patchy" joined-up working meant many older people faced unnecessary hospital stays or were put into care homes too early, the National Audit Office found.
The highly critical report also said there was "no required basic training in how to understand and support" dementia patients despite almost all health professionals having contact with them at some point.
It added that people with dementia are still being unnecessarily admitted to hospital, have longer lengths of stay and enter residential care prematurely.
While there were examples of good practice, the report said, "these are not being adopted widely" and dementia "has not been made a national priority."
Furthermore, the report cast doubt on where funding would be found to implement the five-year plan, warning that there was a "strong risk" it would not show any better value for money in future.
The NAO said the strategy, published in February 2009, was "ambitious and comprehensive" but it accused the Department of Health of failing to match that ambition with action.
Commenting on the report, the watchdog's chairman, Conservative MP Edward Leigh said: "What is the point of a plan without the necessary tools to make change happen?" he asked.
The number of people with dementia in England is expected to double within 30 years to 1.2 million, with the costs of care rising from 15.9 billion pounds in 2009 to 34.8 billion pounds by 2026.
More than half of the present annual bill, 8.2 billion pounds, is direct NHS and social care costs.
Care services minister Phil Hope welcomed the report but insisted the strategy was "on track" and it was wrong to expect immediate results.
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
