UPDATED research shows the number of people living with dementia in the Bowman electorate is expected to almost triple in the next 40 years.
Dementia Australia released figures this month outlining the number of people diagnosed with the degenerative disease across every electorate in Australia with projections up to 2028 and 2058.
There are 3093 people living with dementia in Bowman, with this figure expected to rise to 8722 by 2058.
The statistics show there are slightly more people living with dementia in Bowman then the average 2909 dementia patients across every Australian electorate.
Bowman MP Andrew Laming said his family had personal experience with dementia.
His mother cared for his father for five years before he died last year.
“It is an enormous burden for family members,” Mr Laming said.
“I witnessed first-hand the stress with mum caring for dad until his final days at home.
“My mother was trying to do all of the everyday living tasks for my dad and despite a generous (level four home care) package she was not aware she could obtain meals as part of the package.
“Having those delicious meals available to her and (dad) removed a lot of stress.”
Mr Laming said it was time for a re-think on how to best support people living with the ‘invisible’ disease.
“How do we understand and support people with dementia? (About) 90 per cent of the challenge is supporting the carer rather than the person living with dementia,” Mr Laming said.
“In retail environments or social situations we don’t know how to talk to carers in a sensitive way...assumptions we make in the community about people with dementia are wrong and we need to take the lead from carers and care for them.”
“It is an enormous burden for family members,” he said.
“I witnessed first-hand the stress with mum caring for dad until his final days at home.
“My mother was trying to do all of the everyday living tasks for my dad and despite a generous (level four home care) package she was not aware she could obtain meals as part of the package.
“Having those delicious meals available to her and (dad) removed a lot of stress.”
Dementia Australia CEO Maree McCabe said research showed people were still struggling to understand how to interact with people afflicted by the disease.
“...It is concerning that four out of five people surveyed believe that others feel uncomfortable around people with dementia and two in three believe that individuals have a negative perception of people with dementia,” she said.
“What has been heartening to see...is that 80 per cent of people surveyed had heard of dementia and, of those people, a further three in four people were able to correctly identify basic facts about dementia.”
“More than 60 per cent of people said they didn’t know what to say to someone with dementia, while more than 50 per cent said they were worried they wouldn’t be understood, that they would say the wrong thing or that they might hurt the feelings of a person living with dementia.”
Mr Laming said the federal coalition government’s $200 million boosting dementia research initiative would attract the best people to tackle the problem.
“It means that many high quality research projects that seek funding into dementia is more likely to be funded,” he said.
“This draws high quality researchers with a track record to advance our understanding of dementia and service delivery to manage dementia while we wait for a cure.
“I’m prepared to say finding a cure to dementia is the most pressing medical research objective facing Australia. More pressing than cancer or heart disease.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety following revelations of misconduct across the sector.
More than 430,000 Australians live with dementia with an estimated 250 new cases every day, according to Dementia Australia.
