THE growing number of dementia sufferers are being betrayed by a big fall in the number of care home places across the region, the Conservatives say.

The Tories released official figures revealing that more than 1,600 beds and 38 care homes have been lost in only four years in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

Worst-hit were County Durham (a loss of 391 places), North Yorkshire (222 places), Sunderland (464 places), Gateshead (329 places) and South Tyneside (278 places).

Other authorities have bucked the trend with rises, including Middlesbrough (73 places), Stockton (62 places), Hartlepool (45 places) and Darlington (26 places).

But the overall loss of 1,636 beds between 2004 and this year is a fall of 13.5 per cent – more than twice the 5.8 per cent decline across England.

It came as the Alzheimer’s Society warned that the number of dementia sufferers would soar by 38 per cent over the next 15 years.

Stephen O’Brien, the Tory health spokesman, blamed the cuts on a squeeze on council budgets, accusing ministers of failing to take account of the rising cost of caring for an ageing population. He said: “It is extraordinary that, as the number of dementia sufferers in the UK rises, Labour has presided over cuts to the number of care homes and beds for the most needy.

“Gordon Brown needs urgently to wake up to the scale of the generational timebomb we are facing and begin to take the welfare of the elderly in our society seriously.”

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said the figures did not present an accurate picture, because people with mild or moderate dementia were in homes not registered for the condition.

Furthermore, he said the Government was committed to allowing older people to remain in their homes whenever possible, with appropriate support. Mr Hope said: “We know, because people with dementia and their carers told us, that they would rather stay at home for as long as possible, rather than go into care homes.”

The number of people with dementia, 700,000, will rise to 940,110 by 2021 and to 1,735,087 by 2051, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.

The Tories said the figures revealed the number of places in homes registered to care for dementia sufferers, although they may also provide some care for other people.