- Conference
- 2018 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 18 September 2017
- Decision
- Carried
Dementia is not a disease in fact; it is a group of signs and symptoms. Some of the symptoms may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language and a person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes.
Dementia does not discriminate, it is estimated that, the numbers of people with dementia in the Black community in England and Wales are far higher than previously thought yet their needs are often being overlooked.
Many of the people from the Black community living with dementia will receive no support or will be diagnosed too late for symptomatic treatments to help. We believe that it is important for Black people in the community and specialist dementia services to share knowledge and expertise to improve the quality of services.
At present it’s reported that there are approximately 800,000 people living with dementia in the UK, 15,000 of whom come from Black communities. This number is set to increase seven-fold to over 170,000 by 2051. This is a significantly bigger leap than the two-fold increase expected amongst the rest of the population, as people who moved here between the 1950s and 1970s are reaching their 70s and 80s. Despite this increase, awareness of the condition in minority ethnic groups is low and current provision of appropriate support is lacking.
We know that the Black community takes a disproportionate impact of the cuts since the Tory Government austerity measures, this has worsened.
In the UK there has been very little work done on the impact of dementia in Black communities. However, there are increasing indications that the prevalence of dementia in Black populations is greater than the white population.
Conference calls on the National Black Members’ Committee to work with the National Executive Council:
1)To encourage local Services to meet the needs of people with dementia from Black groups within the community.
2)To encourage that specially designed services e.g. memory cafe are provided locally to meet the needs of people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
3)To lobby Public Health England to lead on preventative work to protect people from Black communities who are at greater risk from developing dementia.
4)Encourage Branches to support service providers to create new services for people with dementia which explores the experience of people with dementia from the Black community by providing mandatory training on cultural needs.