Government ‘should develop national plan on dementia’

With an increasing number of Britons suffering from dementia, a leading charity for those suffering from the condition has urged the government to develop improved community support and launch a national plan to address the impact of the disease.

The Alzheimer’s Society has stated that caring for those with dementia should become a national priority, with over 700,000 people in the UK suffering from the disease and a third of all people ending their life with the condition.

Arguments for an increased governmental role in this area follow a report from the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland published last week that called for the use of hospitals to treat patients with severe dementia to be decided by patient need rather than resources.

A spokesperson for the society said: “A lot more needs to be done?there’s been a big push by us to put this national plan in place and what we’re looking for now is a commitment from the government to see this happen.”

She added that, at present, there exists no national strategy regarding the condition and a lack of planning to cope with the increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease, while health services are already “overstrained”.

Last month, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco reported “exciting” progress on efforts to prevent the contraction of brain problems relating to Alzheimer’s disease.