Welsh Dementia Strategy Needs To Focus On Research, Says Leading Charity
Alzheimer’s Research UK is urging the Welsh Government to put much more emphasis on dementia research in response to proposals for the country’s first dementia strategy.
Following a commitment to make the country more dementia friendly as part of the ‘Taking Wales Forward 2016-2021’ programme, the government has proposed plans which focus on engaging with people with dementia, their families and carers.
The strategy is built around the following themes, and key actions have been proposed for each area:
- Risk reduction and health promotion.
- Recognition and identification.
- Assessment and diagnosis.
- Living as well as possible, for as long as possible, with dementia.
- The need for increased care and support.
- More specialist care and support.
- Supporting the plan:
- Training
- Research.
Tim Parry, Director at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“It is encouraging to see that the Welsh Government is looking at ways to make the country much more dementia friendly and overall, we welcome the proposal. However, if we are to improve the lives of people with dementia in the long term, then we must be funding the best research to find an effective treatment now.
“While this strategy is a step in the right direction, we’d like to see a much stronger emphasis on dementia research as well as encouragement for people to get involved with studies, through initiatives such as Join Dementia Research. There is already a strong research base in Wales, with the Alzheimer’s Research UK Research Network covering Swansea, Cardiff and Bangor. We’d like to see the government build on this and promote Wales as a centre for dementia research, recognising the positive impact research has on understanding the condition and delivering much-needed new treatments.”
