Dementia 'must be a priority

11:53am Saturday 4th August 2007

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DEMENTIA is set to soar in the North-west with experts forecasting a 33 per cent rise over the next 15 years.

Research commissioned by the Alzheimer's Society warns that more than 101,000 people in the region will be living with dementia by 2021.

The London School of Economics and King's College London research reports that dementia currently affects 76,000 people in the North-west.

Lancashire has the highest number of people with dementia, while districts including Cheshire, Warrington and Cumbria will see the biggest growth in dementia, with increases of nearly 50 per cent expected.

Maggie Williams, North region director of the Alzheimer's Society, says: "It is unclear how our health and social services plan to deal with dementia now or in the future. The report clearly shows the scale of dementia in the region and predicts the number of people with dementia will grow by more than 25,000 people by 2021. Dementia must become a local and national priority."