The government plans to produce a national dementia strategy

Government aims to bring dementia 'out of the shadows' - Guardian

Extract:

"The government is to produce the first ever national dementia strategy to bring the problem "out of the shadows".

Ivan Lewis, the care services minister, said: "The scale of our ambition must meet the scale of the challenge as demographic realities mean dementia will impact on an increasing number of families in our society. The current system is failing too many dementia sufferers and their carers."

Speaking during a visit to a mental health centre for older people in North Kensington, London, he said: "I am determined that this disease is brought out of the shadows. We need to minimise the shame and fear associated with dementia so that people and their relatives feel able to seek support at the earliest possible stage in the knowledge they will get expert help and be treated with dignity and respect."

In England, about 600,000 people have dementia and that figure is set to double in the next 30 years.

Also present during Mr Lewis' visit to St Charles' hospital was Barbara Pointon, whose husband, Malcolm, suffered from dementia and is the subject of the controversial ITV documentary, Malcolm and Barbara: Love's Farewell, which will be screened on Wednesday.

Mrs Pointon said that the new strategy was "wonderful", adding: "I hope at the heart of this will come the up-skilling of everyone who deals with elderly people in any context."

The strategy will address three key areas:

· Better awareness: addressing the stigma of dementia and ensuring the early signs of dementia are recognised.

· Early diagnosis: ensuring the diagnosis of dementia is made accurately and early.

· High quality treatment: improving services to maximise the quality of life for people with dementia.

Mr Lewis said: "Dementia is a unique illness with devastating consequences. We know that, as people live longer, an increasing number of families will have to cope with the harsh realities of dementia."

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