This month, Alzheimer’s disease is being highlighted with the fifth World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia – a progressive, degenerative brain syndrome that affects memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. 46 million people globally are living with dementia – 500,000 of those are in the UK – and this number is expected to increase to 131.5 million by 2050. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia and mixed dementia, and the chief executive of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) called dementia the ‘most significant’ health crisis of the 21st century. ADI figures show that someone in the world develops the disease every three seconds.
With this in mind, and because the topic of dementia is often a sensitive one, it’s vitally important that campaigns like World Alzheimer’s Month exist to raise awareness, encourage conversation, and offer support to sufferers and their families. Sadly, most of us have had to, or will have to, deal with dementia in some capacity. One in six people over the age of 80 suffer with the disease, and it’s been estimated that 90,000 sufferers could be misdiagnosed.
Promisingly, it was announced a couple of weeks ago that a landmark £6.9 million trial will be launched, which will involve the most thorough series of tests to detect Alzheimer’s in history. It’s hoped that this will be a turning point in tackling the disease.
The website for World Alzheimer’s Month says that the impact of the campaign is growing which is great to hear, but unfortunately the stigmatisation and misinformation that surrounds dementia remains a global problem. This year’s theme is #RememberMe – everyone is encouraged to get involved by sharing their favourite memories of a loved one on social media this month.
It’s crucial that care for dementia patients is readily available across the UK and of high quality, and that care workers treat the individual in a comforting, respectful and beneficial manner. With an expected increase in the number of dementia diagnoses, care workers are likely to be expected to upskill in the areas of dementia awareness and treatment.
NCFE has a number of qualifications and standalone units to support learners in their understanding of dementia care. These include spotting the symptoms, recognising and understanding the behaviour associated with dementia, and a range of techniques to care for and deal with the disease.
The NCFE Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Dementia Care (600/6355/5) is fully fundable in the Skills Funding Agency’s (SFA) Simplified Funding Rates catalogue. This qualification helps learners prepare to enter, or progress within, employment within the Health or Social Care sector where an understanding of the disease and the care of people with dementia is required. It aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the principles of caring for people with dementia, including person-centred care, the influence of positive communication methods, issues relating to the use of medication for people with dementia, and the importance of providing appropriate activities.
At NCFE we fully support World Alzheimer’s Month. Improvements in diagnosis and awareness are fundamental, as are improvements in the accessibility and quality of care for those suffering from the disease, and our qualifications have been specifically designed to contribute to this.
If you have any questions on our dementia qualifications or standalone units, please feel free to contact us on 0191 239 8000.
