It is estimated that in Medway in 2015 there are 2, 898 people living with dementia and 2,727 of that number are people over 65 years old. It is estimated that there will be a considerable increase in the number of people living with dementia in Medway in future years and this is largely driven by the growth in the overall older population.
Dementia is a word used to describe a group of symptoms including memory loss, confusion, mood changes and difficulty with day to day tasks. These changes may often start small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia but not all dementia is due to Alzheimer’s. The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia.
Dementia services within MCH include Darland House, a specialist nursing home for people with dementia and mental health conditions and dementia crisis support team, a specialist community team set up to support people with dementia and their carers in their homes.