Health and Disability

Dementia, Rights and the Social Model of Disability, a new report published by the Mental Health Foundation, is calling for a radical shift in current thinking around dementia - specifically that dementia should be viewed as a disability. At present dementia is often seen through the lens of a conventional medical model - as an illness that needs a cure or treatment. In light of recent figures from Alzheimer's Research UK which show that one-third of British people born in 2015 will develop dementia, it is important that we support efforts to treat or reduce the impact of the disease. However, it is also crucial that people with dementia have their rights respected and upheld. This requires more attention being paid to the impairments caused by dementia and how they impact on the person's everyday life, including the way society treats them.

The report argues that viewing dementia as a disability rather than an illness would unlock the potential for policy to be developed and services designed, delivered, and monitored by people living with dementia. Who as a result will have a strengthened ability to advocate for appropriate levels of investment in social care so they can live as active citizens in the community.