More than half of dementia sufferers across Northamptonshire unaware they have the condition
Dione Priddy pictured with her daughters after running the London Marathon to raise money for The Alzheimers Society.
A widow whose late husband died after being diagnosed with dementia aged just 37, has urged people with concerns to go to their doctor as figures show more than half of sufferers are still undiagnosed.
Although the number of people diagnosed with dementia in Northamptonshire increased by 1.5 per cent to 3,379 last year, figures released by The Alzheimer’s Society yesterday showed this figure represented only 43.6 per cent of the 7,758 people believed to be sufferers in the county.
This means more than half of those living with the condition are not receiving any of the benefits, drug treatments and support that comes from receiving a diagnosis.
Dione Priddy, whose husband Mark died, aged 41, in 2010, said it was good news more people were being diagnosed, but encouraged anyone with concerns to see their doctor.
Mrs Priddy, who lives in Northampton, and continues to campaign for more research into dementia, said: “I always say with anything, go to the doctors rather than sit and wait and wonder.
“I know there’s medicine that can slow things down and that’s one reason I’d have liked an earlier diagnosis with Mark.”
Ian Howarth, area manager for Alzheimer’s Society in the East Midlands, said: “It’s shocking that well over half of the people that are living with dementia still don’t have a diagnosis in the East Midlands and so they aren’t receiving the support, benefits and the medical treatments that are often available.
“Everyone is a little bit forgetful now and again, but when memory loss starts to interfere with your daily life it is important to get it checked out as soon as possible.”
Last year, county councillor Robin Brown (Con, Braunston), the cabinet member for social services, pledged that dementia care services would expand to meet demand from the county’s ageing population.
The current estimates are that the total number of sufferers would go up by 50 per cent by 2025.
Councillor Brown said: “We can’t disprove that the numbers are likely to grow at the rate we are forecasting, and as a consequence we are investing in dementia care as part of the increases we have within adult social services.”
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cborderick
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 06:10 PMWonderful charity event for this great cause, featured in the Chron a couple of weeks ago - http:uk.virginmoneygiving.comfundraiser-webfundraisershowFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Borders12in12 Please give your support, it really is a devastating disease...
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