An ‘awful’ long way to go
Alzheimer’s Australia chief executive, Glenn Rees, believes Australia has an “awful long way to go” to combat the dementia epidemic and believes the UK has “something to teach us”. Mr Rees reflected on his time in Dublin last month, where he attended the Developing a National Strategy for Dementia conference as Australia’s representative.
Alzheimer’s Australia chief executive, Glenn Rees, believes Australia has an “awful long way to go” to combat the dementia epidemic and believes the UK has “something to teach us”.
Mr Rees reflected on his time in Dublin last month, where he attended the Developing a National Strategy for Dementia conference as Australia’s representative. Conference delegates included speakers from Norway, the UK and France.
Speaking with DPS News, Mr Rees said the conference gave delegates the opportunity to discuss what was happening in national dementia policy in their respected countries.
“I noticed approaches differ quite significantly. For instance, the UK emphasises on being strategic – particularly in the diagnosis of dementia and memory clinics, and ensures the primary healthcare system performs,” he says.
“I think that is something that will be a model for Australia in terms of diagnosis as there are long delays in diagnosis in this country.”
Although some differences exist in national dementia policies around the globe, Mr Rees says each country is “very much at a starting point”.
“We all have the same lack of understanding of the disease, inadequate service diagnosis and are all underinvested,” he says.
However, while France reportedly finds difficulty in gaining media attention regarding dementia awareness, Mr Rees says Australia’s “good media coverage” has been a supportive outlet to communicate messages surrounding the neurological disease.
He says although discussions on “good policy” was discussed, so too was the need to “communicate information on a political level and to the wider community”.
Mr Rees also discussed the transformations at Alzheimer’s Australia, including the organisation’s Fight Dementia Campaign and new branding.
Moving forth, Mr Rees says the government needs to be “responsive” in the fight against dementia in May’s Budget.
