Dementia Spending in Britain Tops �34 Billion a Year

A new study conducted by researchers at Oxford University revealed that Britain spends over �34 billion a year on the care for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

That figure is higher than any of the 15 countries in the European Union apart from Germany. The report said that the health and social care of each patient amounts to �13,000 per year, which is higher than the European average.

The report added that majority of Britons opt for expensive care homes which in turn has increased the total spending well above the European average. More than �11 billion is spent annually on residential and nursing homes with over �1.2 billion spent on inpatient care for dementia patients.

"In southern Europe daughters take care of mothers or fathers with dementia, whereas in Britain they tend to put them in residential care or nursing homes. People in Britain become more mobile and live a long way from their parents. Rather than living in the town or city where they were born, workers tend to live further afield", lead researcher Dr Ramon Luengo-Fernandez wrote in the report which has been published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Source: Medindia