Postcode lottery of dealing with dementia must end

Nurses have been striking over pay and while that issue looks to have been resolved, of equal concern was recently published statistics showing cancer waiting times in the Province at their worst ever level.

In almost every respect, we seem to be worse off than the mainland UK.

Statistics published by the News Letter on page 20 and 21 of today’s paper underline that our problems tackling dementia are just as stark.

Awareness about the disease has undoubtedly grown significantly over recent years, but that has not transferred to the successful registering of people with the condition in Northern Ireland.

Our statistics show that between March 2015 and March 2019 the number of people on the dementia register in the UK doubled. However, in Northern Ireland the number of people on the dementia register increased by just 11%, a startling difference.

The problem will be in the bulging in-tray of new health minister Robin Swann, the Stormont minister with arguably the biggest set of problems to negotiate.

Dementia has to be one of his biggest priorities because it is set to become a bigger and bigger problem in the years to come. People are living longer and the 22,000 people currently living with dementia in Northern Ireland is projected to nearly double to 42,800 by 2040.

An open letter to Mr Swann by Alzheimer’s Society Northern Ireland is published today and it outlines the litany of problems ahead when it comes to tackling dementia.

The key to this battle will be co-operation between the different agencies involved to deliver a joined-up approach. Claims that we currently have a postcode lottery approach to tackling dementia need to be dealt with.