New research shows despite almost one million people living with dementia in the UK, rehabilitations is still overlooked in care plans.
Ahead of World Alzheimer’s Day, which is set to take place on Sunday 21st September, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) published a new report which found rehabilitation still isn’t prioritised in UK care plans.
However, the UK isn’t the only one. The report, titled Reimaging life with dementia – the power of rehabilitation, outlined fewer than half of the countries with a national dementia plan include rehabilitation in their strategies.
‘Rehabilitation is not an optional add-on, it is a right,’ Paola Barbarino, chief executive of ADI, said. ‘When you are diagnosed with cardiovascular or respiratory diseases, treatment and rehabilitation are provided as a matter of course. Why should dementia be treated differently?
‘People living with dementia deserve the same opportunity for support and recovery as anyone facing a major health condition.’
With this in mind, ADI is calling on the UK governments to embed rehabilitation into national plans. Evidence within the report suggests the treatment can help people stay at home for longer, which in turn reduces pressures on public services and delays the cost of residential care.
Against this backdrop, global dementia-related costs are estimated to increase to $2.8tn (£2.25tn) by 2030 and the report warns that failure to act will come at a mounting price.
Barbarino added: ‘Rehabilitation restores a sense of identity and purpose. Even the smallest gains can transform lives.
‘Too often, we hear that clinicians will tell someone newly diagnosed with dementia to “go home and get your end-of-life affairs in order”. But people can live well with a diagnosis for many years with the correct support in place, and rehabilitation can facilitate this.’
‘ADI is demanding that healthcare systems proactively offer rehabilitation for dementia as they would for any other condition, like respiratory and cardiovascular diseases,’ Barbarino said. ‘It is time to make rehabilitation a routine part of dementia care in the UK.’
Photo by bob works via UnSplash
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