19 Sep 2022

Crisis in dementia care, as numbers set to triple

From Nine To Noon, 9:07 am on 19 September 2022
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Alzheimers New Zealand is warning of a crisis in dementia care if more funding is not allocated to community support services, but says it's going to get significantly worse as the population ages. Dementia patients and their families are already reporting home help being reduced or withdrawn, and in-home carers not turning up, due to staff shortages. Alzheimers New Zealand says the sector is chronically underfunded and the country is unprepared for an even bigger crisis as the number of people with dementia triples in coming years. Lynn speaks to Catherine Hall, the chief executive of Alzheimers New Zealand, and also hears from two women caring for their husbands who have dementia; Adrienne Henderson and Tanya Lyders.