Up to 180,000 people with dementia rarely leave their homes, according to research published by the Alzheimer's Society. The report called ‘Building
Dementia friendly communities: A priority for everyone' shows that one in three people who were surveyed left their homes once a week and one in 10 get out once a month.
The research also found that 44 per cent of people with dementia felt like a burden and so they avoided participating in local events.
In a YouGov survey that fed into the report, 59 per cent of adults said that the inclusion of people with dementia in their communities was bad.
An analysis by the Alzheimer's Society shows that communities that help people with dementia could save £11,000 per person per year by helping them remain independent and out of care for longer.
At a conference in London, the Alzheimer's society will announce 10 areas that communities can focus on to become ‘dementia friendly'. They range from challenging the stigma to including people with dementia in local life, and stress the importance of accessible transport.
Liverpool and Plymouth are among the communities that have begun to implement practices that will support those with dementia in daily life.
The full report can be accessed at http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/buildingdfcs.
Jeremy Hughes, the chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society has written a blog about the report, which can be found at http://dementiachallenge.dh.gov.uk/2013/09/03/building-dementia-friendly-communities/