Dementia worries? There is help

I HAD a hunch that Covid-19 restrictions had caused thousands of dementia cases to go unnoticed – and now there is proof. Official NHS data released last week showed that 50,000 patients haven’t been diagnosed and are struggling on without help.

In June I replied to a reader’s request for advice on what to do about his wife, who he suspected had developed the disease. Since then the letters have kept coming, with many telling me that local memory clinics – which I mentioned – are still closed due to Covid restrictions. In these situations I highly recommend contacting the charity Dementia UK, one of the few to offer face-to-face appointments with specialist trained nurses – they have been doing so throughout the pandemic. The charity offers support for everything from diagnosis to financial problems.

Visit dementiauk.org or call 0800 888 6678.