Why the next government needs to prioritise dementia.

It’s the UK’s biggest killer and will cost our economy £42bn this year. Over the next 15 years, these costs will more than double. 

Dementia is the greatest health and care challenge of our time.  

Successive governments haven’t acted strongly enough relative to the scale and urgency of the challenge dementia poses.  New evidence tells us that the challenge is starker than ever. 

Dementia is also an opportunity, however. 

Address the big challenges in dementia and in turn address so many of the huge issues faced by health and social care.

Unaffordable 

We now have the evidence to demonstrate to those in power that the cost of dementia can no longer be ignored. 

It’s a compelling argument. 

It comes from new research commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society, working alongside Carnall Farrar, which estimates current and future economic and healthcare costs of dementia in the UK. 

The research was conducted using the records of 26,000 people dating back seven years and is one of the largest studies conducted on dementia in Europe. 

It revealed that from the current £42bn, the cost of dementia is forecast to skyrocket to £90bn by 2040. 

The majority of these costs come from unpaid care (50%) and social care (40%), with a huge financial burden being placed on the unpaid carers, largely made up of the loved ones of those people living with dementia. 

Some 63% of the total cost of dementia is borne by patients and their families, and as the disease progresses, total costs increase significantly, rising from £29,000 per year for mild dementia to £81,000 for severe dementia.   

Looking forward, the picture gets even more serious as time goes on. The evidence tells us that the need for social care and unpaid care is set to increase by 43% by 2040. 

This is worrying when we know it is already a struggle to recruit care staff, and around a third of those caring for loved ones as unpaid carers already report they spend more than 100 hours (about 4 full days and nights) per week doing so. 

These findings need to change how we think, talk about, and act on dementia in the future.

Diagnosis 

I’ll keep on saying this – addressing dementia and the immense financial and system pressure costs of dementia must start with diagnosis. 

A third of people living with dementia in England and Northern Ireland and half of people living with dementia in Wales do not have a diagnosis. That cannot be right – not for those living with dementia, their loved ones, the NHS, the social care system or – indeed – the economy.  

We have to be more ambitious and do better. 

Aside from the simple dignity of giving people the certainty and information they need, the rationale for diagnosing dementia is overwhelming. With a diagnosis, people living with dementia can plan for the future, and things are less likely to escalate into a later crisis, such as a hospital admission or a desperate need for a care home bed.  

With a diagnosis, they can access the vital care, support, and treatment they need and deserve. 

And if the new treatments which appear to slow down Alzheimer’s disease are approved by regulators, a gold-standard diagnosis given early in disease progression is critical.  

Yet despite evidence about the benefits of dementia diagnosis in easing pressure on families and systems, spending on dementia diagnosis and treatment is equivalent to just 1.4% of total dementia healthcare costs. 

The benefits of focusing on dementia diagnosis 

The next UK government literally cannot afford to do anything other than prioritise dementia.  

Over the course of this election period, we have been making this point to those looking to represent and govern us, setting out the clear, overwhelming case for dementia to be at the top of their agendas come 5th of July.

Read the report: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-05/the-annual-costs-of-dementia.pdf 

Mark MacDonald - Associate Director of Advocacy and System Change - Alzheimer's Society