DEMENTIA MUST BE DECLARED A NATIONAL HEALTH EMERGENCY'

With the disease revealed as the leading cause of death in the UK, shocking new research suggests almost two-fifths of Britons fear a relative might already be impacted

- Kat Hopps

Almost two-fifths of people believe a relative might have undiagnosed dementia, a wide-ranging survey into the worsening nation's dementia crisis has revealed.

Alarming figures reveal 37% of caregivers have had to quit work while 30% were forced to downsize or sell their homes, with thousands more carers at breaking point. Nearly a third of 1,000 people polled for UK home care provider Home Instead had a family member with dementia, rising to 51% for multigenerational family carers.

The scale of the crisis is so concerning that two-thirds (66%) of respondents want dementia to be declared a "health emergency", with 76% calling for a national screening programme to improve early diagnosis.

The new survey came as separate analysis revealed dementia was the leading cause of death in the UK last year. Figures from Alzheimer's Research UK show 75,393 people died from dementia in 2023, compared with 74,261 in the previous 12 months and 69,178 in 2021.

The "crisis will only worsen" because of the ageing population, Alzheimer's Research UK, warned, unless the Government takes action.

It added that the Government's upcoming 10-year health plan should be used to "future-proof" NHS dementia services so the condition "doesn't remain a death sentence".

Ruth Brown, chief operating officer of Home Instead, told the Daily Express: "A diagnosis of dementia is devastating for any individual but the wider impact on family carers can also be horrendous. Our research paints a fairly desperate picture, with lives and careers put on hold for many who step into care for their loved ones.

"What these families need is practical help and this channel is a resource designed to do exactly that.

We need to help these carers shift away from trying to do everything themselves. To find better and more workable solutions." N EARLY a million Britons are believed to have dementia with the number predicted to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.