How to help those with dementia plan for the future

Jonathan Schott

Chief Medical Officer, Alzheimer’s Research UK

In the last year, many of us have had time to take stock and think about putting plans in place for whatever the future may hold, including updating our Wills. For people living with dementia, this often means thinking about setting up lasting powers of attorney and planning for how future care needs can be met.

At Alzheimer’s Research UK, we have developed a new information pack to help you make plans for the future. It contains four factsheets designed to answer some common questions about Wills, inheritance tax, lasting powers of attorney and planning for future care. It comes packaged in a folder for you to add to as you start collecting your own information and useful local contacts.

We should all be regularly reviewing our wishes for what we want later in life. For people with dementia, it is important to do this sooner rather than later to allow individuals autonomy and a say over their decision making. Whether you are putting your own affairs in order, or supporting a loved one with dementia, knowing that wishes and plans have been organised will, we hope, help give peace of mind.

The impact of dementia on families

Sadly, one in three children born today will develop dementia in their lifetime. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. As you may know from personal experience, dementia does not just affect individuals but everyone who loves and cares for them, and this past year has been particularly challenging. As a researcher and clinician, I have seen the devastating impact of dementia on people and their families and know how crucial it is that we make progress in tackling this condition and the diseases that cause it, to give hope to future generations.

As you may know from personal experience, dementia does not just affect individuals but everyone who loves and cares for them, and this past year has been particularly challenging.

Our goal at Alzheimer’s Research UK is to fund the best research into diagnosis, prevention, treatments and a cure for the diseases that cause dementia. In recent times, the development of vaccines against COVID-19 has demonstrated the enormous impact that medical research can have for society. Research has already helped millions of people recover from cancer and heart disease, we believe we can make the same progress for people with dementia.