You probably remember a time when nobody dared talk about dementia. Comedians would joke about ‘mad granddad’ but no-one seriously wanted to contemplate a life without memory. Thankfully, Alzheimer’s disease charities have started to wake us up to the reality of the 850,000 people who live with dementia in the UK.. Stigmatisation is waning but dementia is still greatly misunderstood and is feared more than cancer or even death. So when the headline “Test to STOP Alzheimer’s: Simple 20-minute quiz could be key to beating the disease” made the front cover of the Daily Express last week, it struck a chord with a great many of us. Promising to “halve the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease”, I decided to try it out to discover just how well it could ease fears of dementia. Read more
Tag: dementia
Smart Homes: Clever ideas for tomorrow’s health
As anyone who’s spent time in a hospital ward will know, dementia is a big problem.
The elderly with memory problems occupy a disproportionate number of hospital beds. Often admitted for a simple illness, they represent a forgotten populace left in limbo. No longer able to fully care for themselves yet not needing full-time care; they wait in hospital are get labelled ‘bed-blockers’. People with dementia don’t get a fair deal. ‘Care packages’ – designed to let them live in their own home are all-too-often delayed by bureaucracy and lack of funding.
Technology is now offering new hope for those afflicted with one of the most feared conditions. Smart-homes – houses integrated with electronic devices are letting people who would otherwise be in nursing homes lead independent lives.
A residence wired with technological wizardry is no longer just for Bill Gates – it’s coming to a neighbourhood near you… Read more