Dementia Cases To Escalate

Dementia sufferers across North Yorkshire are predicted to soar in numbers by 50 per cent over the next 14 years, according to new figures. Research by the Alzheimer’s Society has suggested that by 2021, there will be 12,699 people across the county with this kind of illness – a huge rise from the 8,456 in estimated sufferers today.

York itself is currently thought to have 2,395 people with dementia – a figure set to rise by more than a third to 3,217 in 2021. The biggest rise in the region is projected for East Riding of Yorkshire, which is expected to house 7,733 dementia sufferers in 2021 – a rise of 62 per cent from the 4,759 it has today.

Now the charity has called for councils to make caring for people with various types of dementia – of which Alzheimer’s is the most common – a top priority.

Maggie Williams, the society’s northern director, said: “Dementia is set to dramatically increase in Yorkshire, yet it is unclear how our health and social services plan to deal with dementia now or in the future.

“The report clearly shows the scale of dementia in the north and predicts the number of people with dementia will grow by more than 20,000 people by 2021. Dementia must become a local and national priority. We need leadership from local authorities and services to develop plans to respond to the challenge of dementia.”

A report to council chiefs at the beginning of this year estimated that the city was likely to have 700 more dementia sufferers by 2020 than it does now. It was estimated there would be nearly 10,000 more over-65s – a situation described as a “ticking timebomb” if investment was not made to care services.

Council leaders have said they were developing plans to meet the needs of the city’s older population over the next two decades. Bill Hodson, director of housing and adult social services at City of York Council said doing nothing was “simply not an option”.

He said the council was developing a draft strategy on caring for older people – including providing more community-based mental health care and support.

The Alzheimer’s Society will on Monday challenge in the High Court a controversial decision made by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence not to offer drugs for the condition in its early stages.