Party leaders have backed the Daily Mail and Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Carers Together appeal, which aims to build a nationwide support network for the millions of people who care for a loved one with dementia. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch praised the campaign as an “important lifeline to families caring for loved ones”, as leaders from the main parties lined up behind the appeal.

The appeal is raising funds for Dementia Carers Together, a new service that will combine practical information with peer support through dedicated local and online groups. It will help carers understand their rights, navigate complex systems and connect with others who know what they are going through. Pilot groups will take place from November, before the service rolls out to 150 sites across the UK from January.

Burnham: ‘I saw my mum sinking’

Prime Minister Andy Burnham backed the appeal after speaking openly about his own family’s experience of dementia. His father, Roy, had Alzheimer’s disease, and Mr Burnham said his mother, Eileen, was left “sinking” under the strain of caring for him. He said the family had become so focused on supporting his father that they did not fully recognise the toll caring was taking on his mother.

“From what I experienced, the emotional toll is a burden that is unbearable. The weight is unbearable – it gets too big,” Mr Burnham said. “I saw it directly – I saw my mum sinking under the size of that weight.” He said the family had worked for many years on the principle that they would keep his father at home, and that it possibly took too long to make the decision about a care home, although the home his father eventually moved to was “great” and “the right option in that situation”.

Mr Burnham said that when his father’s diagnosis was confirmed, the family received paperwork and “all kinds of stuff but none of it really helped”. He said practical advice about how things would progress, and the chance to network with people in a similar position through the appeal’s sessions, would have made a difference. “From experience, just a little bit of help can make something feel bearable or doable that without it, would all of a sudden just overwhelm somebody,” he said.

Support for 2.5 million carers

Across the UK, an estimated 2.5 million people provide some form of care for someone with dementia. The new service is designed to reach them with sessions delivered by Alzheimer’s Society staff and volunteers, giving carers advice, support and the chance to connect with others who understand.

Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said she was “incredibly grateful to the Prime Minister for opening up about his own family’s experience and backing our Dementia Carers Together Appeal”. She added: “No one caring for someone with dementia should be left to struggle without the support they need. Dementia Carers Together will give carers vital advice, support and the chance to connect with others who understand.”

‘We have got to see them’

Mr Burnham said the country depended on people caring for partners and loved ones without pay, and that they needed to be seen, recognised and heard when they said they needed more support to make caring sustainable. The appeal forms part of the wider partnership between the Daily Mail and Alzheimer’s Society to bring the nation together to tackle dementia and improve access to information, support and care.

With pilot groups starting this month and a national rollout planned from January, organisers hope the new network will mean no carer has to face dementia alone.