Dementia care is the Cinderella of the care industry: research into products to alleviate dementia are lagging 25 years behind progress into researching cancer.
It is a sobering thought considering over 850,000 people in Britain are living with the disease, and the Alzheimers Society estimates that this number will have risen to 2m by 2050. A survey by Saga revealed that nearly 70% of respondents feared the onset of dementia.
Potential treatments that may reduce the rate of memory loss are being trialled, but these are still in the development stage. It is believed that drugs focusing on combating the build up of amyloid beta protein concentrations within the brain offer the best chance of combating the disease. Initial trials have indicated that mental decline was reduced by 34%.
Whilst such pharmaceutical advances are to be welcomed, the care of those already affected by dementia should not be ignored. For these people, the provision of secure, safe living areas combined with memory aids, sensory gardens and highly trained staff can significantly help to reduce the distress caused by this life changing disease.
As Dame Gill Morgan, chair of NHS Providers, points out, social care cuts invariably hit the caring industry first: “we need to see proper investment in social care, health and to re-emphasise the importance of care for the carers”.
Dementia is an illness that impacts on the lives of everyone, not just the person affected, but their family, friends and relatives as well. The pressure experienced by these carers is immense, but all too frequently overlooked. With the number of patients set to rise significantly in the future, the challenge for the care industry is to find ways to deal with these ever widening issues, whilst trying to mitigate and ease the distress of all concerned. Training in dementia care is set to become even more important.