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A national response plan has been developed to address the rising number of people with dementia in NZ. The number diagnosed with dementia is expected to triple in NZ in coming years.
In response, Alzheimers NZ, Dementia NZ and the NZ Dementia Foundation collaborated to develop the Dementia Action Plan. The plan was presented to Health Minister David Clark and Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa last month.
Spokesperson for the plan, Alister Robertson, who has dementia and has been on the board of various dementia organisations, said the plan sets out changes to the health system that would enable it to better support people with dementia and their carers.
“Successive governments have ignored the dementia issue. Right now, the health and support structures for people affected by dementia, like me, are woefully inadequate,” Mr Robertson says.
He says the impact of Covid-19 has put serious long-term financial and funding pressure on charities that provide dementia support services in the community.
“People like me rely heavily on those organisations but they now face collapse and need urgent government support,” he says.
