Support for dementia sufferers and their families

Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren has welcomed an announcement by Senator Rachel Siewert of a national initiative to support dementia sufferers and their families.

"As a dementia champion, I am working to raise awareness about the impacts of this disease in our communities," said Ms MacLaren.

"Dementia is the third largest cause of death in Australia, so the State Government should have a co-ordinated health and residential care service plan," accoding to Ms MacLaren.

The Greens policy calls for an investment of $70 million over 4 years, prioritising intervention and diagnosis, along with support for carers and those living with dementia.

Greens Health spokesperson, Senator Rachel Siewert says dementia care costs Australia an estimated $5.4 billion per annum, with the number of Australians with dementia set to double by 2030.

"Dementia is the largest single cause of disability in older Australians," Senator Siewert said.

"The impact on our health and care system is expected to rise dramatically in coming decades. By 2030 the number of Australians with dementia will double to 592,000 and then almost double again to around 1.13 million by 2050.

"The Greens support the vision for a world class dementia care system put forward by Alzheimer's Australia. This is a serious issue which our current health, aged and community care systems are ill-prepared to face," said Senator Siewert.

Dementia is expected to become the third greatest source of health and residential aged care spending within the next two decades.

"It is clear that we need to be putting more effort and resources into research and development on the causes and prevention of dementia," Senator Siewert concluded.

For more information on dementia, please go to www.alzheimers.org.au