World Alzheimer’s Day 21 September

The theme for World Alzheimer’s Day, adopted by the 77 members of Alzheimer’s Disease International, is that there is ‘no time to lose’ in making dementia a health priority.

The National Consumer Committee of Alzheimer’s Australia has put forward seven priorities in their Dementia Manifesto (www.alzheimers.org.au) for the next Election to improve the quality of life of people with dementia and their family carers.

These are to:

. Improve the diagnosis and care of people with dementia by GPs
. Expand community care services for people with dementia and their carers, particularly through a further increase in care packages for people with dementia.
. Improve access to quality dementia care in residential services with special care needs.
. Implement a workforce strategy that will supply an adequately trained dementia care workforce in primary, acute and community settings.
. Improve access to appropriate care for those with special needs, particularly people
. from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and indigenous people
. those with younger onset dementia and those with acute psychiatric or intellectual disabilities as well as dementia.