Dementia friends campaign 'to be a missed opportunity'

The government has been criticised over its dementia friends idea, which has been called a missed opportunity.

Writing for the Guardian, Oliver James claimed it is doomed to fail because of the memory problems individuals affected by dementia have.

"The core problem with Alzheimer's and most dementia cases is that the person is no longer storing short-term memories," he said, highlighting the fact that the vast majority are already in the mid or even late stage of the illness before they receive any medical care.

Mr James explained that in many cases, individuals are unable to remember what happened 30 seconds ago, which means that the government's "fuzzy goal" is not going to be a success.

When he contacted the Department of Health, it stated it is yet to work out the details of what will be in the training sessions given to the dementia friends.

The government recently announced it is to make a major investment designed to reduce the diagnosis time for older adults affected by dementia.

Find out about dementia care and support services at Barchester care homes.