Are you ready for dementia?

• A major issue for our society is the sustainability of health and social care structures

• We need to consider how to increase government funded (or should we say, taxpayer funded) care services

• In a world where it is increasingly likely that your family will be legally obliged to fund your later life, it is never too soon to start talking about it, and making plans

Are you dementia ready?

I have just been asked by a journalist for a radical idea for the future of health and social care for the country. I’m not going to spoil the article by giving out my brilliant idea right here, (you will be able to read about it in the Sunday Post with Dani Garavelli) but it gave rise to thoughts about the idea of being “Dementia Ready”.

A major issue for our society is the sustainability of health and social care structures.  We are expecting a larger number of people to live to greater ages, and the indications are that many of us will have care and support needs for longer, because of chronic disease.

How to increase government funded care services?

One way of looking at this is that we need to consider how to increase government funded (or should we say, taxpayer funded) care services.  Discussions about increasing tax is never popular. Of course, in the UK already lots of adult children support their parents in lots of ways.  It is not unusual to see the woman in her seventies caring for her father in his nineties.  The ‘young old’ are caring for the ‘old old’.

But have you made your own plan? 

This is an opportunity to consider whether you are “Dementia Ready”.  The majority of people will never have to live with dementia, but it is always good to have a plan just in case.  Have you thought about it?  Have you discussed it with the relevant people (for example, your closest family or friends, your doctor, lawyer, faith leader)?  Have you written something down?  Is it a living will, or a DNAR (do not attempt resuscitation) statement, or have you granted Power of Attorney to someone?  If you have written it, does anyone else know where it is?

There is always a chance that if you are lucky enough to live to be very old, that you will become frail and if you don’t plan now you may be dependent on others to make decisions for you.  Have you thought about where you are going to live?  How will you be supported there?

Preparing your family earlier rather than later

Well, this might all sound a bit grim.  But think of it like taking an umbrella on a walk.  If you pack your brolly it probably won’t even rain, but it is not a big effort to take that precaution and it is no fun getting cold and wet.  And if this country follows the global trend, it is unlikely that the state support is going to increase radically in our lifetime, other than safety nets for those families who have nothing.  In a world where it is increasingly likely that your family will be legally obliged to fund your later life, it is never too soon to start talking about it, and making plans.

 If you would like more information, you can buy my book Dementia, the One Stop Guide or Care Homes: When, Why and How to Choose a Care Home. I am available for consultancy for families or organisations. And if you have any further queries or questions, or suggestions for something you’d like to see me write on, please contact me via the Contact Page

See my new course on Dementia the One Stop Guide on Policy Hub here