September 11, 2014 1.49 pm This story is over 114 months old

Report finds over 11k dementia sufferers in Lincolnshire

More help needed: Lincolnshire has the third highest number of dementia sufferers in the East Midlands, according to a recent report by Alzheimer’s Society.
Alzheimer Society representatives Pippa Foster, Sue Button, Laura Hannibal.

Lincolnshire has the third highest number of dementia sufferers in the East Midlands, according to a recent report by Alzheimer’s Society.

The charity, which champions the rights of people living with dementia and their careers, is arguing that those suffering “are still living without the right support”.

The report, Dementia UK: The Second Edition, was released on September 10. It showed there are currently 11,269 people in the county with dementia.

The county with the highest number of dementia sufferers was Nottinghamshire, followed by Derbyshire.

Across the region, there are 60,254 people living with the condition – six times the capacity of Sincil Bank football stadium in Lincoln.

The Alzheimer’s Society predicts that there will be 850,000 people living with the condition in the UK by 2015, costing the UK £26 billion a year.

Marion Hooper lives in Metheringham, near Lincoln, with her husband Edward, who has dementia.

Marion said: “Once we got the diagnosis it was a relief, because we were able to change our lives accordingly. You need to change things because you have different priorities, but the relief was immense.

“People don’t come forwards because they are too afraid and because there is a stigma attached, but there shouldn’t be.

“I think people are afraid of the truth and choose to shove it under the carpet instead. Personally, how we dealt with it was to know the truth and to be upfront about it.

“We live a better life now knowing what is wrong than when we didn’t know what it was and we just struggled on.”

Paul Dunnery, Alzheimer’s Society Operations Director for the Central Region, said: “With over 60,000 people living with dementia in the East Midlands and many more friends and family affected by the condition, it is vital the government takes action.

“In the UK one person develops dementia every three minutes. We must do more to ensure that everyone living with dementia gets the care and support they need.”