More than 4,000 with dementia

People as young as their forties are being diagnosed with the early onset dementia, Minister of Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde has said, revealing that an estimated 4,000 people suffer from the disease and the numbers being diagnosed were on the increase.

Forde was the guest speaker at a training seminar hosted by the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association, under the theme Let’s Talk Dementia: End the Stigma.

Noting that age was the greatest risk factor for developing dementia, she said the ministry was paying close attention to the trends, especially as they related to the elderly, given Barbados’ ageing population.

The Minister also noted the important role caretakers played in taking care of elderly persons. She said: “The care of loved ones who have been afflicted with dementia can be a demanding and stressful task, and without adequate knowledge of the condition, caregivers can feel understandably helpless, hopeless and overwhelmed,” she said.

People with dementia, she submitted, were particularly vulnerable to all types of abuse and neglect in their homes and institutions because the ailment rendered them unable to comprehend or explain what was happening to them.

But the elder affairs minister declared: “We must also give consideration of the hurt and desperation that the caregiver can experience when their ailing relative innocently speaks an untruth against them, such as ‘she didn’t feed me today’ or ‘nobody gave me a bath’.”

Dementia, she said, was a global problem and the issues had to be treated with a measure of seriousness at all levels of society.

Discussions on the ways in which the matter could be addressed must begin as a matter of urgency, and her ministry would do all in its power, with the assistance of stakeholders and partners, to ensure that senior citizens were cared for, she told the seminar.

“We will do so because we acknowledge and can never forget that through their blood, sweat and tears, they would have laboured tirelessly in their formative years to build the firm foundation that we call Barbados.

“We owe them our love, care and attention.”