Wirral to help develop national dementia strategy

Jul 9 2008 by Matt Hurst, Wirral News Series

WIRRAL Council and Wirral Primary Care Trust will take part in a national initiative to develop new ways of diagnosing, treating and supporting people who have dementia.

The organisations will be working with one other local authority and PCT to devise a national dementia strategy with the Department of Health.

John Webb, director of Wirral’s department of adult social services said: “This is a really exciting opportunity for people in Wirral to get involved with.

“The lessons learned will be used to influence and shape the government’s first national dementia strategy, and together with our health partners, the Wirral Alzheimer’s Society and Age Concern we believe we can really make a difference to people’s lives.”

The move comes as the number of people who need to be supported nationally is growing, with more people developing the illness wishing to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.

Kathy Doran, Wirral PCT’s chief executive, added: “This work will help us prepare for the anticipated rise in numbers of elderly people in Wirral, some of whom will unfortunately develop dementia.”

There are currently an estimated 4,449 with dementia in Wirral and 570,000 people throughout England.