Psychiatrists and neurologists think again about services for younger people with dementia

The conference is being held in conjunction with the Association of British Neurologists to create links between these two disciplines in this under resourced area.

This joint initiative hopes to improve younger people with dementia's experience of services, which currently have little co-ordination. The guidelines have been produced following an Alzheimer's Society postal survey of members of the college's Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry in 2002. The survey found that only 11% of the 241 psychiatrists who responded had a specialised service in place. The report highlights a postcode lottery for younger people with dementia and calls for two key players to be appointed at commissioning level to improve services for younger people throughout the UK. The conference is the first event to be held in the run up to this year's Alzheimer's Awareness Week on 3 - 9 July. Across the country the Alzheimer's Society will be asking people to think again about dementia, highlighting the fact that dementia can affect anyone at any age.

Tony Pollen, the carer of his wife Ruth, who has Alzheimer's disease, will speak at the conference to give a personal perspective on the problems of early diagnosis and care. Tony says,

'Ruth was just 44 years old when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. It took two and a half years, three scans and two hospital stays before we finally got the devastating diagnosis of dementia. There are many additional problems that arise from caring for someone as young as Ruth, particularly as she is a lot more active than an older person. I hope by speaking at this conference it will help dispel the myth that Alzheimer's only affects older people. It may be too late to improve things for Ruth but if I can stop anyone in the future facing the difficulties that we did, it is worthwhile.'

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society said,

'Dementia can affect anyone at any age, and over 18,000 people under 65 have dementia in the UK. During this Alzheimer's Awareness Week, we are asking people to think again about dementia. This conference is a vital part of this process as we ask health professionals to rethink how they deal with people with dementia in their local area. We hope this conference will increase understanding of the difficulties faced by younger people with dementia in getting a diagnosis and accessing services, and that those who attend the conference will leave as champions in the field, helping to put our recommendations into practice.'

To arrange an interview with Anthony Pollen, or other younger people affected by dementia please call Gayle Wing, Alzheimer's Society press office.

The conference is being held at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 17 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PG.

For media enquiries, contact:
Alzheimer's Society press office
Royal College press office, 020 7235 2351 ext. 154.

Notes for editors

• The Faculty of Old Age Psychiatrists and the Alzheimer's Society's policy paper on Services for younger people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias 2005 is available on request. This is a review of a policy paper published jointly in 2000.
• The Alzheimer's Society is the UK's leading care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers.
• The Alzheimer's Society is the Medical Journalists' Association Medical Charity of the Year. The Alzheimer's Society is the first organisation to win this award.
• Over 750,000 people in the UK have dementia. More than half have Alzheimer's disease.
• There are 18,500 people in the UK under the age of 65 with dementia.
• For information and advice on Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia call the Alzheimer's Society national helpline on 0845 300 0336.
• Our website address is: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/.