Coronavirus grabs headlines but UK's biggest killer dementia 'ignored' say campaigners

National campaigner Silver Voices has criticised the "disgraceful neglect" of people with dementia - which is Britain’s biggest killer - while national headlines cover a flu-like virus believed to have a fatality rate of three per cent.

In a statement, Silver Voices is calling for the Chancellor to allocate an extra £8 billion a year in his March Budget for social care to tackle the neglect of people with dementia.

“While the national media provides blanket coverage of a flu like virus from China, which although very worrying has a fatality rate of about 3 per cent, the biggest killer in the UK is virtually ignored”, Silver Voices stated.

The outbreak of the coronavirus is believed to have started in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.

It has since spread, with more than 42,000 cases reported in China to date (11 February), as well cases across the world.

Dementia-related illnesses are now the biggest cause of death in the UK according to official statistics. In England and Wales, 12.8 per cent of deaths overall were caused by dementia in 2018 (the statistic for women is 16.7 per cent).

Is dementia treated as a national emergency?

While the Alzheimer’s Society projections indicate 225,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2020, one person every three minutes, Silver Voices asks “Is this treated as a national emergency?”

There were 379,000 emergency admissions of people with dementia in 2017/2018, 100,000 (more than five years before).

Silver Voices calls the costs of dementia to society “mind-boggling” amounting up to £30 billion a year.

“As the Government continues to dither over long-term solutions” the campaigner is demanding £8 billion a year be announced in the budget.

“This disgraceful neglect of those living with dementia must be brought to an end.”

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