£430,000 boost for dementia sufferers

More than 3,500 people across Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale will be helped by the money which has been awarded to the Alzheimer's Society to fund a new three-year project to treat the debilitating disease.

The funding has been welcomed by front-line staff who help battle against dementia, cases of which are rocketing across the region.

Colin Barnes, manager of the Alzheimer's Society Scarborough branch, said: "This project will help people cope and reduce the isolation and loneliness that so often accompanies a diagnosis, especially in the sparsely populated areas of the North Yorkshire Moors and the Esk Valley.

"It will offer personal support, self-help groups in the market towns and, crucially, links with the health and social care services as part of an individual's diagnosis and treatment.

"Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain and robs people of their lives."

The project, called "Living well with Dementia", will use community venues to provide a range of support on caring, legal and financial matters, basic benefits advice, emotional support, help with statutory agencies and advice on moving into residential care.

The funding is being provided by the Big Lottery Fund's Reaching Communities programme.

More than 600,000 people in England have dementia and the figure is set to double in the next 30 years as the population ages, with predictions there will be over a million sufferers by 2025.

The problem is acute in North Yorkshire, a popular destination for people who retire.

It has been estimated that the demands for care services from the elderly in York alone will cost an extra 7m annually by 2020.