Today, more than 600,000 people in England are affected by dementia – a progressive and terminal brain disease that, as more people live longer, is predicted to affect twice this number within 30 years. It’s an escalating public health problem that the Department of Health has stated is a national priority.
However, according to a report published by the National Audit Office in 2010, there is too little joined-up working between health and social care services for people with dementia, a situation echoed by Professor Carol Brayne, Director of the Cambridge Institute of Public Health (CIPH): “What patients and families tell us is that there are problems with fragmentation of care for dementia, with not enough information about what’s available and what pattern of services works best.”
Brayne and colleagues within CIPH (see panel), together with collaborators from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trusts and partners from the Cambridge University Health Partnership, realised that a new approach was needed to underpin the delivery of improved dementia care, as well as to further research on dementia screening, treatment and prevention. Their aim is to build a dementia registry to support both service and research.
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Image: Institute of Public Health, Cambridge
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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Rooted in evidence: a public health response to dementia
10 May 2012
Research programmes at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health focus on common chronic disorders. Currently under the spotlight is dementia and a major new project that will underpin improved prevention, screening and patient care.