Time we all knew more about Dementia

It seems that dementia is at last recognised as a major problem which requires a much higher level of understanding amongst the public at large. Statistical evidence suggests that as many as one in three people will suffer from the disease before they die yet over half of those won’t even have it properly diagnosed.
It is forecast that the number of people with dementia will double in absolute terms over the next 30 years as life expectancy steadily improves and the population increases so it is imperative that everybody acquires a greater awareness of the problem and how to respond to it. 
There is no doubt that the illness is still stigmatised in much the same way as cancer and HIV used to be. People whose friend or relative starts to show signs of the disease very often find it difficult to deal with and their relationship with the sufferer can unwittingly start to change. They find that changed patterns of behaviour are awkward to cope with and that they start to have difficulty in recognising the person they know and love.
While there is a pressing need for all of us to become more dementia friendly, the area where the urgency is perhaps most acute is in the country’s care sector. The challenge here is all the more formidable because sufferers are separated for most of the time from the people most familiar to them. Fortunately, many of the UK’s better managed care homes are already ahead of the curve and are taking on board recommendations made by studies of the disease and its accompanying behavioural patterns. Clearly, it is very important to spend time with family members to gain a thorough insight into the resident’s background and previous way of life. It is also desirable to create such things as memory boxes and activity stations. 
Of course, one of the biggest problems is that relatives who choose a care home for an elderly relative who is perfectly healthy may find that he or she develops dementia at a later stage and the home is not equipped to deal with it. This makes things all the more distressing for everybody as the resident has to be uprooted and settled in somewhere else.
Maybe the answer is for all care homes to be compelled by law to be qualified in caring for residents who suffer from the disease.