Dementia screening

Responding to media reports today that the Alzheimer’s Society is calling for the NHS to offer dementia screening for people when they reach 75, Claire Bottomley, Age Cymru’s Healthy Ageing Manager says:

“According to the Alzheimer’s Society, there are an estimated 37,000 people with dementia in Wales and this figure is set to rise by 35 per cent over the next 20 years, with one in three people aged over 65 expected to develop a form of dementia.

“Health screening allows people to make informed choices about maintaining and improving their health and independence – this is why early diagnosis of dementia is crucial.

"Age Cymru has long called for a commitment to providing more money for research into the causes of dementia, which has so far been severely underfunded.

“After years of well-funded research, early diagnosis now gives cancer sufferers the hope of recovery – without essential research, early diagnosis brings no such hope for dementia patients.

“We need investment in research that is proportionate to the potential burden of the disease."