How big an issue is dementia? It’s estimated that over 980,000 people are living with dementia in the UK, and that 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 have the condition. 65% of people with dementia are women. The total number of people in the UK with dementia is expected to reach 1.4m by 2040.
To put that even more into context, around half of us will be affected by dementia during our lifetime – either through developing the condition or caring for someone who has.
Those are some pretty big numbers – and we can’t overlook the personal stories behind every one of them. Dementia has a huge human impact on individuals, families and communities as family members, caregivers and people with the condition attempt to deal with major changes to cognitive function, memory and behaviour.
There’s also a financial dimension. The annual cost of dementia to the UK economy was estimated to be £25bn in 2020. (Sources: Alzheimer’s Research UK).
The skills, knowledge and compassion of care teams are essential national resources in the face of these statistics.
Understanding Dementia
Dementia can affect individuals in different ways. It’s a bit of an overarching term for different conditions with various causes and a range of commonalities.
That’s why we always recommend starting with awareness training covering the different forms of dementia, the effects on individuals and helpful and unhelpful behaviours when dealing with people with dementia.
When you have a grasp of the basics you can explore more specialised areas related to different types of dementia such as:
Each of the specialist courses will help you understand more about that type of dementia including signs and symptoms and appropriate treatments and support.
Awareness and knowledge will help your team offer appropriate care and support with confidence, as well as advise family members and informal caregivers.
With a large and growing number of people with dementia it’s clear that knowledgeable and trained care staff have a vital role to play in supporting those directly and indirectly affected. Redcrier is committed to helping with that through high quality and accessible learning.