Extra £15m Needed To Counter ‘Dementia Epidemic’

The Executive must spend an extra £15 million to tackle Scotland’s epidemic of dementia, campaigners said yesterday. Alzheimer Scotland said that the number of people with dementia will increase by 75 per cent in 25 years, from 58,000 to 102,000 in 2031.

The charity’s manifesto said the new Scottish Parliament needed to pledge an extra £15 million to help the growing number of dementia sufferers and their carers. It also said drugs to treat the illness should be made available to all who need them, saying many were denied treatment until their condition deteriorated.

Jim Jackson, the chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, said: “Dementia is the key health issue which will face Scotland over the coming decades with our ageing population, and it is vital that it is made a national priority.

“Today, one in 90 Scots has dementia, but in 2031 it will be one in 50. We need help for people with dementia and their families now, we need a strategic plan for the future, but most of all we need to act now.”

James McKillop, who chairs the Scottish Dementia Working Group, said: “The manifesto is based on the priorities identified by people with dementia, carers, people who work in dementia care and others committed to improving dementia care services.

“It is important not just to the 58,000 people in Scotland currently diagnosed with dementia, and their families, but also to those who dementia will affect in future. We want to pave the way for future generations, so that they will receive early diagnoses and the appropriate services and support.”