12th January 2009| Channel 4 Dispatches
Fiona Phillips investigates the care of Alzheimer sufferers in the UK in a special Dispatches film to be broadcast in January.
The number of people suffering from dementia, the majority with Alzheimer’s, is projected to rise from 700,000 to over 1 million by 2025 and 1.7 million by 2051.
Unpaid carers are saving the government just over 6 billion pounds a year. The burden of caring for a spouse or family member is a draining experience. A YouGov survey of carers carried out for Dispatches revealed that fewer than half of carers surveyed received help from Social Services or got respite care and 20% of carers said they sometimes or often feel threatened by the person they’re looking after.
Directed by Anke Lueddecke & Charlotte Rodrigues
Executive Producers: David Henshaw & Lesley Bonner