Someone is diagnosed with dementia every three minutes in the UK. The Alzheimer’s Society and 2017 eprivateclient Top Law Firm Cripps are suggesting people need to take action to protect themselves and their families.
There are 850,000 people in the UK with dementia – including 40,000 under the age of 65 – and that figure is set to rise to more than one million by 2025 and two million by 2051.
Stephen Horscroft, a managing associate at Cripps, says there are legal steps that should be taken to prepare for possible mental impairment.
“Ideally these should be taken whilst a person is fit and well but a diagnosis of a disease such as Alzheimer’s does not necessarily mean that measures cannot be taken provided you act early,” he said.
“The key legal protection to consider is a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) which gives someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity in the future.”
The Alzheimer’s Society is drawing attention to the disease with its Dementia Awareness Week (14-20 May) and calling on people to unite and take action – whether it is giving a donation, volunteering or raising awareness.
The Society’s support services manager for Tunbridge Wells, Kate Sergeant, said: “Dementia can affect anyone and is set to be the 21st century\'s biggest killer but awareness and understanding remains low and many families are facing it alone.
“That’s why, during the week, we want everyone to come together and take action. By uniting, we can raise awareness, offer help and understanding, improve care and urgently find a cure.”
As well as LPAs, there are other simple steps someone with a diagnosis of dementia can take before the disease becomes advanced – such as setting up direct debits to ensure bills are paid, ensuring they are receiving the correct benefits and giving a trusted person a third party mandate on a bank account or setting up a joint account. Advance Decisions can also be drawn up which set out their wishes regarding medical treatment should they lose the capacity to consent in the future.