Alzheimer's Society comment on publication of End of Life Strategy
Published 16 July 2008
One in three people over 65 will die with dementia and too many of them are subjected to an undignified and unnecessarily painful death.
The End of Life Strategy is a good start towards tackling the appalling state of end of life dementia care, but if it is to truly succeed, there must be a much stronger focus on delivering quality end of life care to people with dementia.Neil Hunt
Commitments to improve training must focus on dementia and there must be more sharing of skills and knowledge between dementia care and palliative care specialists
The amount of people living with dementia reaches a million in less than 20 years. The time for change is now.
Chief Executive
Alzheimer's Society
For further information contact:
Press Office - 0207 423 3595
Notes to editors:
- 1 in 3 older people will end their lives with a form of dementia.
- 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, more than half have Alzheimer's disease. In less than 20 years nearly a million people will be living with dementia. This will soar to 1.7 million people by 2051. 1 in 6 people over 80 have dementia.
- The Alzheimer's Society champions the rights of people living with dementia and those who care for them. The Alzheimer's Society works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- As a charity, the Alzheimer's Society depends on the generosity of the public to help it care, research and campaign for people with dementia. You can donate now by calling 0845 306 0898 or visiting www.alzheimers.org.uk.
- The Alzheimer's Society Dementia Helpline number is 0845 300 0336 or visit www.alzheimers.org.uk
