The UK’s forgotten crisis
I didn’t know that Dementia through Alzheimer’s will affect 1 in 3 of everyone born in the UK today.
When the Alzheimer’s Society say it’s the UK’s ‘forgotten crisis‘ they aren’t kidding. 
New hard-hitting figures from an Alzheimer’s Society commissioned study, for Dementia Action Week 2024, will reveal the huge financial and emotional impact of dementia for people in the South West, as well as the impact to healthcare and the UK economy, due to a lack of dementia diagnosis.
chase and badger the NHS through all the stages!
Dementia “is the biggest health and social care issue of our time”, it’s the UK’s biggest killer yet a third of people with it do not have a diagnosis. Meaning that, today, there are thousands of people not receiving the right care or support they need.
I know this from personal experience. My father is well down the path of vascular dementia, the most common version of the condition.
Inside his head there are alarming areas of air where there was once, brain. It has literally withered away. This destroys his cognitive abilities. He often cannot recall events that occurred just 3 minutes previously and the loss of confidence from being unable to disseminate the simplest of problems is profound.
Through my own general conversations, I’ve discovered that virtually everyone I speak to is dealing, or has dealt with, the exact same issues with family members.
Getting a diagnosis can be daunting, but the Alzheimer’s Society insist that it’s believe it’s better to know. And so do 91% of people affected by dementia. As I’ve also encountered and we’ve reported with dentistry, the NHS is truly broken. Getting an initial doctors appointment in Cornwall was actually very good. I accompanied my father to a consultation in early September. After this however, processes were mired in waiting lists, inadequate tests, a delayed brain scan and lost paperwork. A final formal diagnosis was made on the 2nd January this year. During which time the onset of his condition has been alarmingly rapid. He was prescribed Donepezil but only obtained the pills nearly 3 months later in March this year.
My advice to anyone guiding a dementia patient through the systems is to chase and badger NHS through all the stages.! I didn’t do that enough.
The Alzheimer Society are promoting Dementia Action Week . An awareness raising campaign. Each year, Alzheimer’s Society works with individuals and organisations across the UK to encourage people to act on dementia. The week is from Monday 13 May – Sunday 19 May 2024 and they will be highlighting case studies, regional statistics, conversations with dementia experts and offering an extensive array of online support systems.
In the meantime support and advice is available here.
My last word is – if you suspect a case of Alzheimer’s in anyone you know – don’t wait.