New Good Life with Dementia report by The Alzheimer’s Society and Red & Yellow Care explores a good life with dementia coinciding with launch of revolutionary new service. Report calls for timely diagnosis, increased public awareness and improved flexibility of care for patients. What happens after diagnosis also highlighted as being remarkably variable.
Acceptance and understanding of the experience of dementia in the wider community is arguably the single biggest barrier to achieving a good life with dementia, report says individuals with dementia should not be feared or kept ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
A new report released today by Red & Yellow Care in partnership with The Alzheimer’s Society highlights that timely diagnosis, increased public awareness and improved flexibility of care need to be addressed to help pave the way for a good life with dementia.
The new report coincides with the launch of Red & Yellow Care, a new service which uniquely offers specialist, integrated dementia care that is centred around, and is tailored to the person with dementia.
The report explores what a ‘good life’ with dementia could look like and shows that currently diagnosis is often drawn out and can be needlessly stressful. What happens after diagnosis was also highlighted as being remarkably variable. Experts interviewed in the report agree that there is a need for better post-diagnostic care and support.
Arguably the single biggest barrier to achieving a good life with dementia is the acceptance and understanding of the experience of dementia in the wider community. To overcome the loneliness, alienation and segregation currently felt by many people the report states that it is imperative that dementia is accepted as a ‘new normal’, just one more of the many challenges faced by people across all walks of life. It also calls for individuals with dementia to be treated as people and not to be feared or kept ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
Additional research of members of the public commissioned to support the report backs this up by showing that 43% of people do not think you can live a good life if you have dementia and 65% of people are scared that they or a family member will get dementia.
Unsurprisingly, there is a strong desire from individuals with dementia to remain in their own homes and to be looked after by a loved one. Yet some carers can struggle to adapt to the changing needs of their loved ones, and few have the specialist expertise to ensure that individuals receive the highest quality care at every step of their dementia journeys.
