Dementia cases expected to rise, councillors told

The rise in dementia cases is primarily being driven by an ageing population, said a report

More than 11,000 Wiltshire residents aged 65 and above will be living with dementia by 2030, according to a report presented to the county council.

The document said the figure was primarily driven by an ageing population and increased life expectancy.

The report was discussed during an update on Wiltshire's dementia strategy at Trowbridge County Hall during a health select committee hearing.

Committee members heard the dementia strategy's vision was to create supportive communities and improve care quality.

It was estimated about 4,300 people aged 65 and over were living with dementia in Wiltshire with potentially thousands more undiagnosed.

The report estimated the number of Wiltshire residents aged 85 and over was expected to rise by 87% by the year 2040.

Wiltshire's dementia services are mainly provided through two community-based contracts delivered by Alzheimer's Support: Dementia Advisors and Community Services.

The contracts are valued at £580,000 and were recently renewed.

Dementia training

During the discussion, Bradford-on-Avon and Calne were described as being "exemplary" cases of "dementia-friendly" towns due to their wide range of activities.

"There is a huge range of activities for people with dementia, cafes, walks, movies," said councillor David Vigar.

"There has been dementia training for the businesses and so on."

Jo Body, a senior commissioner at Wiltshire Council, said the towns were best practice across Wiltshire.

"If we could get everywhere to be the level of Bradford-on-Avon and Calne, then I think we'd probably have the best county dealing with dementia across the nation," she said.

"Those are exemplary towns and they've done an amazing job."