Dementia

All eight Member States examined have been discussing the topic of “Dementia/Alzheimer”“ at national level. In Denmark, Finland, France, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, the current target is to improve the situation of dementia patients who depend on care.

The Finnish national programme to combat memory disorders aims to facilitate the care chain for people suffering from dementia. By coordinating care and service chains, the programme promotes prevention, early detection and rehabilitation of memory disorders. For more information, click here.

A national programme entitled “Integrated Care Dementia” (Programma Ketenzorg Dementie) is currently taking place in the Netherlands. It aims to improve the care situation of people suffering from dementia through a stronger interconnection of services provided by health insurance companies, private providers and interest groups/ stakeholders. The coordination of service providers also helps to better respond to the actual needs of clients and their relatives.
For more information, click here.

Similarly, one of the main objectives of the UK’s National Dementia Strategy is the improvement of dementia services.
For more information, click here.

The revised implementation plan of “‘Living Well with Dementia – A National Dementia Strategy” was published by the UK Department of Health in September 2010. According to the plan, priority objectives for the years 2010 and 2011 are:

• good-quality early diagnosis and intervention for all;
• improved quality of care in general hospitals and care homes
• reduced use of antipsychotic medication.  

Cf.: “Quality outcomes for people with dementia: building on the work of the National Dementia Strategy”