Living well with dementia--development of the national dementia strategy for England.

摘要

Dementia is one of the greatest societal challenges that we face. The profound negative impacts of dementia on people with dementia themselves, their families, and in terms of health and social service use are not in doubt. Powerful misconceptions exist concerning dementia including it being a normal part of aging; that there is nothing that can be done to help; and that it is better not to know. These have resulted in a situation where dementia has not been a priority for health policy makers and commissions.The direct result of this is that the large majority of people with dementia and their family carers do not benefit from the positive intervention and support that can promote wellbeing and prevent crises for all involved. At times it can seem that services have been designed to result in the avoidance of diagnosis and the consequent denial of care. In the UK only about a third of people with dementia receive a diagnosis of dementia.