Government announces ‘more help’ for dementia patients

The Department of Health has announced plans to offer increased support to people with dementia with the launch of a consultation on the future of dementia care.

It will run from June 19th to September 11th 2008, with the final strategy to have three main aims.

These are to increase the awareness of dementia and remove the stigma associated with the disease, to ensure early diagnosis and intervention, and to improve the quality of care received by patients.

At present there are around 570,000 people with dementia in England, with this figure forecast to double over the next three decades.

The government has also announced an immediate review into the prescription and use of antipsychotic medication to treat sufferers of dementia that will be completed before the publication of the National Dementia Strategy.

Ivan Lewis, health minister, said: “Dementia is a condition affecting an increasing number of families in our society and is one of the greatest challenges now facing NHS and social care services.

“That is why this first ever national dementia strategy is so important.”

He added that consultation should guarantee the final strategy published by the government this autumn fulfils the commitment to bring the condition out of the shadows.

In June 2008, researchers at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in Amsterdam said the use of daytime bright light could improve the symptoms of dementia.