Dementia is a serious and progressive disease that leads to memory loss and communication problems that can make life confusing.
Palliative care is recognised to be key in the management of advanced dementia and, as the population ages, the number of people with dementia requiring hospice care is rising.
National Dementia Awareness week is aimed at raising awareness of the disease, including the challenges faced by carers and the experience of the person with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society encourages the public to think of 10 things that they can do to support someone living with dementia.
This year, the aim of the week is to get people talking about dementia, with the tagline: ‘Worrying changes nothing, talking changes everything’.
People have contributed to the website to share the things that they find most worrying about dementia. These include:
- that I, or someone I know, may have dementia
- about developing dementia at some point in the future
- that I’m not coping with caring for someone with dementia.
Further resources and information can be found on the dementia page on the NHS website or on the website of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Also see the article published on ehospice: Drive to improve dementia diagnosis, reporting on the commitment by Jeremy Hunt to improve dementia diagnosis and support by 2015.
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