Dementia carers across Lincolnshire and Newark facing huge costs for looking after loved ones
It's thought families are paying over 60 per cent of the cost on average
Last updated 13th May 2024
Today we're hearing about the huge toll looking after a loved one with dementia is taking on carers across Lincolnshire and Newark both mentally and financially.
The Alzheimers society puts the cost of care at 42 billion a year UK wide
Experts predict that sum will double in the next 20 years.
Families are paying more than 60 per cent of those costs on average.
Barrie Hope from the Grantham area looks after his wife who has dementia.
He told us they can't now host social events like they used to.
It's a little more than memory loss that comes to everyone eventually
"She would do the cooking - the planning - the whole meal."
"Six weeks ago I asked her to switch the oven on and she couldn't remember how to do it."
"Fifty nine years ago she made her own wedding dress."
"Six months ago I asked her to take an inch off a new pair of trousers and she couldn't set the sewing machine up."
"There's too much anxiety going to places - even friends houses we've been staying with for 50 years or more."
"They've changed the house but not for 20 years."
"She can't cope - 50ish new years together - now it can't happen."
"The current situation started about 3 or 4 years ago when you realise things are going a little bit awry."
"It's a little more than memory loss that comes to everyone eventually."
"Strange logically processing - behavioural elements."
We need social care reforms - that includes things like training for social care staff
We also spoke to Danielle Cooper the lead for Alzheimer’s Society in Lincolnshire.
She tells us the seven-year survey found that the majority of those costs are currently being shouldered by those living with the condition and their families:
"We need the Government to improve access to diagnosis for dementia."
"We need social care reforms - that includes things like training for social care staff so they can better meet the needs of people living with dementia."
"We need greater support for those unpaid carers".
"Dementia itself is the UK's biggest killer."
"It's the leading cause of death."
We’re also doubling funding for dementia research
"982 thousand people are currently living with dementia and 1 in 3 people born today will develop dementia."
"A third of people with dementia don't actually have a diagnosis."
"Only 1.4 per cent of that money spent on healthcare goes towards diagnosis."
"There's strong evidence that early diagnosis can actually help people avoid that unnecessary admission into hospital and also into care homes and live independently for longer."
"This helps improve their quality of life and reduce the financial cost."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
“Timely diagnosis of dementia is vital, which is why we’re working to identify and treat more people and provide potential new treatments as they become available.
“We’re also doubling funding for dementia research to £160 million a year by the end of 2024/25, and dementia is one of six major conditions included in our upcoming Major Conditions Strategy.”