Rohit Bhattacharjee, Amity University Kolkata
Dementia is a pandemic in the ageing society, the likelihood doubles every five years. People with dementia in the UK, both those living with families or alone, have lost invaluable support. Family carers have lost respite opportunities because of COVID-19, causing them to feel abandoned. The burden of care was increased by the lockdown enforced in March 2020, with the government advising all older people above 70 years should self-isolate, denying them the informal support of friends and family. COVID-19 has brought death and dying to the forefront but dementia is the most common cause of death in men and women above 80 years which is likely to increase from around 59000 per year in 2014 to 220000 per year by 2040 as predicted by Etkind and colleagues.
The UK is arguably in a good position by having existing services to provide support to maintain resilience, psychological and mental well-being. Specialists in dementia care, the admiral nurses, use a case management approach to support the entire family affected by dementia, from diagnosis to end-of-life care and provide continued support to family carers during bereavement. Commissioners of health and social care for dementia mustn’t break the care trajectory for those affected and adhere to NIH (National Institute of Health) and care excellence guide to minimize the effect of COVID-19 on one of the most vulnerable groups in our society.
Also read: COVID-19 or flu? Which one to control first?
Suggested Reads:
1. Wang H Li T Barbarino P et al. Dementia care during COVID-19. Lancet. 2020; 395: 1190-1191
2. Alzheimer’s Disease International World Alzheimer’s report 2019: attitudes to dementia. https://www.alz.co.uk/research/WorldAlzheimerReport2019
PhD Program Admission 2021 Biological Sciences at IISER Mohali
-Shristi Sharma, Team bioXone The notification for the Departments of Biological Sciences PhD Program January 2021 Admissions at IISER Mohali has been announced. IISER Mohali PhD Admissions 2021 – Biological Sciences Program. Interested applicants can check out all of the details on the same below: Applications are invited from prospective candidates for admission to the […]