Section:GDN 1N PaGe:8 Edition Date:190807 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 6/8/2019 19:37 cYanmaGentaYellowbla
- The Guardian Wednesday 7 August 2019
(^8) National
Boy fractured spine in fall
from Tate viewing platform
Dementia
is ‘biggest
killer in
England
and Wales’
Haroon Siddique
A six-year-old boy allegedly thrown
from the viewing platform at Tate
Modern suff ered a bleed to the brain
along with fractures to his spine, legs
and arms, a court has heard.
Amelia Hill
Dementia is the biggest health cri-
sis of our time, experts have said, as
statistics show the condition was the
primary cause of death in England and
Wales last year.
Almost one in eight people died
from dementia and Alzheimer’s dis-
ease in 2018, with the proportion
increasing for the fourth consecutive
year: up from 12.7% in 2017 to 12.8% in
- There were 541,589 deaths reg-
istered in England and Wales last year,
the highest total since 1999.
With the number of people living
with dementia expected to rise to 1
million in the UK by 2021 , campaigners
are urging the government to fulfi l its
pledges on adult social care, including
publishing a long-awaited green paper.
In his fi rst speech as prime minis-
ter, Boris Johnson vowed to solve the
social care crisis “once and for all”,
asserting that he would protect the
elderly from the fear of having to sell
their home to pay for the cost of care.
Sally Copley, the director of policy
and campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society ,
said : “For four years now, we’ve seen
deaths caused by dementia increase.
We need to take action now to tackle
the biggest health crisis of our time.
One person develops dementia in the
UK every three minutes and there are
still far too many facing a future alone,
without adequate support.
“There has never been a more
urgent need for the government, the
NHS, the research community and
society to unite with us against this
devastating condition. We need the
government to prioritise dementia
with a dedicated NHS dementia fund
and invest in a plan for long-term
social care reform.”
The increase in the numbers of
those developing dementia and Alz-
heimer’s disease is a result of people
living longer, surviving other illnesses
and of the syndrome being better
understood by doctors, said the Offi ce
for National Statistic s (ONS) report
published yesterday. But with the
the platform with his parents when the
incident occurred on Sunday. He fell
about 30 metres from the 10th fl oor of
the art gallery’s Blavatnik extension.
He was found on a fi fth-fl oor roof
and was treated at the scene before
being airlifted to hospital by the Lon-
don air ambulance. He remains in a
stable, but critical, condition and is
with his family.
Police were called to the gal-
lery at 2.40pm on Sunday. London
ambulance service paramedics also
attended. A journalist, Olga Male-
hevska , was on the viewing platformnumber of people with dementia liv-
ing alone expected to double by 2040 ,
experts say people deserve to see the
same life-changing breakthroughs
made in the treatment of dementia
that have benefi tted other major dis-
ease areas, such as cancer.
“Right now, we have no way to
slow, stop or treat the diseases that
cause dementia but with the right
support, research can change this,”
said Dr Alison Evans, the head of pol-
icy at Alzheimer’s Research UK. “The
UK government currently only invests
0.3% of the annual cost of dementia
towards research and this is pitifully
low. We’ve called on the government
and prime minister to join countries
around the world and commit to put
the equivalent of just 1% of the cost of
dementia towards research.”
Caroline Abrahams, the charity
director at Age UK , said: “Older people
living with long-term health condi-
tions like dementia who need social
care are suff ering every day in huge
numbers because they do not get the
care they need. ”
The mortality rates were released
on the same day the ONS published
data that revealed vacancy rates in
adult social care in the public sector
were running at an 8% high, equat-
ing to 110,000 vacancies, among the
highest rates across all public services.
The report warned that, with a
growing ageing population pushing up
demand , vacancy rates in adult social
care services may increase further.
Barbara Keeley , shadow cabinet
minister for social care and mental
health, said: “These statistics show
that dementia is set to be one of the
biggest challenges for the health and
social care system over the coming
years and the social care system just
isn’t equipped to provide the level of
care that people with dementia need. ”
Mortality rates due to dementia
and Alzheimer’s disease are highest
for women, accounting for 16.7% of
all reported deaths and rising to 23.6%
for women aged over 80 years old. The
leading cause of death for all men con-
tinues to be ischaemic heart disease
but for men aged 80 years old and over,
dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is
the leading cause of death, at 15.1% of
all reported deaths.with her four-year-old son at the time
of the incident and described what
happened as “absolutely terrifying”.
She said she could hear a woman cry-
ing desperately and shouting: “My
son, oh my son.”
The six-year-old’s alleged assailant
spoke in court to confi rm his name,
date of birth, age and address. He also
confi rmed his nationality as British.
The magistrate, David Armitage,
told him he would be remanded in cus-
tody until tomorrow, when he would
appear at the Old Bailey in central
London.12.8%
Proportion of people who died from
dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
in England and Wales in 20181m
Expected number of people who
will be living with dementia in
the UK by 2021The extent of his injuries were
revealed yesterday during a short
hearing at Bromley youth court, in
south-east London, at which his
alleged attacker, a 17-year-old boy
who cannot be named because he is a
minor, was remanded in custody.
The six-year-old, a French national
visiting London with his family, was on▲ A six-year-old boy fell from the 10th
fl oor at the Tate Modern on SundayРЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS