The leader in Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph highlights the short fall in dementia care and research in this country and is well worth the read:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8089217/Dont-overlook-dementia.html

The crux of the article is summed up in the first line: “Dementia is our most pressing, and costly, medical and social problem.”

I very much hope that all care homes will welcome National Dementia Declaration, which was launched on Tuesday by 45 organisations – setting out a new approach for treatment is indeed a hugely important step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the stats don’t lie – as an ever ageing society we are becoming more susceptible to this condition.

Why should dementia be treated any differently to cancer simply because it affects the brain instead of other parts of the body and because a large number of sufferers are older people?

If dementia was recognised as a mainstream condition that can affect any one of us, better understanding and eventually acceptance would follow.

The media, with the help of high profile celebrities have worked hard to try and crack the taboo that surrounds dementia, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

It is time we all realise that the UK’s fastest growing problem is not going away.