Living Well With Dementia: a National Dementia Strategy
Published 06th February 2009
Launched on Tuesday 3rd Feb 09, The aim of the National Dementia Strategy is to ensure that significant improvements are made to dementia services across three key areas: improved awareness, earlier diagnosis and intervention, and a higher quality of care. The Strategy identifies 17 key objectives which, when implemented, largely at a local level, should result in significant improvements in the quality of services provided to people with dementia and should promote a greater understanding of the causes and consequences of dementia. This Strategy should be a catalyst for a change in the way that people with dementia are viewed and cared for in England.
Recent reports and research have highlighted the shortcomings in the current provision of dementia services in the UK. Dementia presents a huge challenge to society, both now and increasingly in the future. There are currently 700,000 people in the UK with dementia, of whom approximately 570,000 live in England. Dementia costs the UK economy £17 billion a year and, in the next 30 years, the number of people with dementia in the UK will double to 1.4 million, with the costs trebling to over £50 billion a year.
While the numbers and the costs are daunting, the impact on those with the illness and on their families is also profound. Dementia results in a progressive decline in multiple areas of function, including memory, reasoning, communication skills and the skills needed to carry out daily activities. Alongside this decline, individuals may develop behavioural and psychological symptoms such as depression, psychosis, aggression and wandering, which complicate care and can occur at any stage of the illness. Family carers of people with dementia are often old and frail themselves, with high levels of depression and physical illness, and a diminished quality of life. Dementia is a terminal condition but people can live with it for 7–12 years after diagnosis.
After looking through each objective, Telecare seems important within this strategy. Objective 10 states: Considering the potential for housing support, housing-related services and telecare to support people with dementia and their carers. The needs of people with dementia and their carers should be included in the development of housing options, assistive technology and telecare. As evidence emerges, commissioners should consider the provision of options to prolong independent living and delay reliance on more intensive services.
Full implementation of the Strategy will mean that all people with dementia and those who care for them would have the best possible healthcare and support. We know that early diagnosis, effective intervention and support from diagnosis through the course of the illness can enable people to live well with dementia. We also know that improving health and social care outcomes in dementia in the short and medium term can have significant benefits for society both now and in the future.
The Department of Health’s vision is for the positive transformation of dementia services. It would be a system where all people with dementia have access to the care and support they need. It would be a system where the public and professionals alike are well informed; where the fear and stigma associated with dementia have been allayed; and where the false beliefs that dementia is a normal part of ageing and nothing can be done have been corrected. It would be a system where families affected by dementia know where to go for help, what services to expect, and where the quality of care is high and equal wherever they might live.
The implementation plan for the Strategy can be found on the Department’s dementia website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/dementia. The Strategy’s economic impact assessment (also available on the dementia website) is modelled over five years.
All information has been taken from the Department of Health’s Living Well With Dementia: A National Dementia Strategy.
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