DEMENTIA care in Jersey needs to be properly funded and professional care qualifications are a must for those looking after people with the disease in homes, the chief executive of Dementia Jersey argues in today’s Monday Essay.
The article follows the publication last week of an interview with Trudy Robinson, whose husband, Ian “Robo” Robinson, is in the advanced stages of dementia. Their shocking and heartbreaking story prompted this newspaper to use its voice and influence to campaign for better. Ian was the military liaison officer for the Island, a job he won after leaving the RAF. They have been married for more than 50 years.
As explained in the launch edition of the new JEP Monday edition last week, it is clear there is much to do, challenges to overcome and arguments to win – and also many good people to celebrate. We want government to hear your concerns, so if you have experience of dementia as a carer, family member or friend of someone with the disease, we will tell your story. Together we can make the necessary changes happen.
While this JEP campaign will be calling for something different and better, this phase of the campaign is all about fact finding, understanding the landscape and building connections with people who can support us – and who we can support.
Today’s Monday Essay written by Claudine Snape, the chief executive of Dementia Jersey, is a significant step towards achieving that first step. And everyone should read it. The charity is working towards producing an economic-impact report, which will estimate the cost of dementia to the economy. In the UK, she reveals, the figure is around £42.5 billion, twice the cost of cancer.
She says that Dementia Jersey is pleased to be working collaboratively with government, but says that there is a long way to go and much to do.
“We fully appreciate that there is a huge number of competing demands on the limited financial resources that government has to budget for, particularly in the health sector, and that government has to prioritise the use of those resources based on financial and social impact,” she writes.
“We therefore plan to calculate the economic impact of dementia in Jersey to provide a business case for prioritising investment in dementia-specific resources.
“We know that in 2024 the estimated economic impact of dementia in the UK was £42.5 billion, yes £42.5 billion, roughly double that of cancer.
“The strategy oversight group is undertaking an exercise shortly to create a budget for the delivery of the strategy and it’s important that the Health Minister and chief officer anticipate this request and are prepared to put resources in place to support the new planned care model for dementia.”
The Monday Essay is on Pages 14 and 15 of today’s JEP.
