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Today saw the launch of a new campaign aimed at raising awareness of dementia.
Fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett, Columbo star Peter Falk and former Prime Minister Lady Thatcher are all believed to be suffering with the condition.
It affects around 700,000 people in the UK and is expected to increase more than threefold in the next 50 years.
In the south west alone, there are estimated to be some 66,000 people living with dementia and experts project that this figure will rise to more than 91,000.
But the stigma surrounding it means that only one in three sufferers ever get a formal diagnosis and others have no idea where to turn for help.
Now a new campaign aims to change all that.
Local councils, the South West Strategic Health Authority, Primary Care Trusts and the Alzheimer’s Society have joined forces to look at how dementia services can be improved.
They want to raise awareness of the condition, dispel the myths surrounding it and look at how sufferers and their carers can get the vital support they need.
Earlier this year, the Department for Health launched the first ever National Dementia Strategy for England.
Backed by £150m over the first two years, it sets out plans to increase awareness of dementia, ensure early diagnosis and intervention, and improve the quality of care given to people with dementia.
David Johnstone, executive director of Adult and Community Services at Devon County Council, (Alternatively, you can use his title as Chair of the ADASS performance and standards network,) said: “A lot of people aren’t aware of dementia but it is something that is increasingly affecting a lot of people.
"People with dementia and their carers can be very isolated. Carers have to spend a huge amount of time looking after them. As we have an ageing population, many more people will be affected by it."
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