Paying the price

IN the week that marks the centenary of the birth of Ronald Reagan, one of the world’s most famous Alzheimer’s suffers, who ended his last address to the American people with the words “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life”, it is inspirational that another wordsmith – Sir Terry Pratchett – should now be doing so much to embrace the cause of dementia sufferers.

As Sir Terry, a bestselling author, couraegously comes to terms with his own condition, he is right when he says dementia needs to be afforded the same priority that has been given, and rightly, so, to cancer by successive governments.

An ageing society means the number of sufferers will inevitably rise; there are 7,500 people affected by dementia in Leeds alone. That Leeds and Hull Universities, among others, should find themselves at the forefront of cutting-edge research in this field of care offers some hope for the future.

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But, at a time when every last penny of expenditure needs to be accounted for, it is imperative that Ministers heed Sir Terry’s call. A failure to do so will only see society, and specifically the already stretched care system, paying an even greater price in the longer term.

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