Many countries consider the care of people living with dementia a national priority and invest in resources and education to better inform health and social service workers, unpaid caregivers, relatives and members of the wider community. Several countries have authored national plans or strategies. These plans recognize that people can live reasonably with dementia for years, as long as the right support and timely access to a diagnosis are available. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron described dementia as a "national crisis", affecting 800,000 people in the United Kingdom. In fact, dementia has become the leading cause of death for women in England.There, as with all mental disorders, people with dementia could potentially be a danger to themselves or others, they can be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 for assessment, care and treatment. This is a last resort, and is usually avoided by people with family or friends who can ensure care. Some hospitals in Britain work to provide enriched and friendlier care. To make the hospital wards calmer and less overwhelming to residents, staff replaced the usual nurses station with a collection of smaller desks, similar to a reception area. The incorporation of bright lighting helps increase positive mood and allow residents to see more easily.Driving with dementia can lead to injury or death. Doctors should advise appropriate testing on when to quit driving.
Signs that may point to dementia include getting lost in a familiar neighborhood, using unusual words to refer to familiar objects, forgetting the name of a close family member or friend, forgetting old memories, not being able to complete tasks independently, etc. Stages
The course of dementia is often described in four stages that show a pattern of progressive cognitive and functional impairment. However, the use of numeric scales allows for more detailed descriptions. These scales include the Global Deterioration Scale for Assessment of Primary Degenerative Dementia (GDS or Reisberg Scale), the Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST), and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). Using the GDS, which more accurately identifies each stage of the disease progression, a more detailed course is described in seven stages – two of which are broken down further into five and six degrees. Stage 7(f) is the final stage. Pre-dementia
Pre-dementia states include pre-clinical and prodromal stages. The prodromal stages includes (1) mild cognitive impairment (MCI), (2) delirium-onset, and psychiatric-onset presentations. Pre-clinical
Sensory dysfunction is claimed for this stage which may precede the first clinical signs of dementia by up to ten years. Most notably the sense of smell is lost. The loss of the sense of smell is associated with depression and loss of appetite leading to poor nutrition. It is suggested that this dysfunction may come about because the olfactory epithelium is exposed to the environment. The lack of blood–brain barrier protection here means that toxic elements can enter and cause damage to the chemosensory networks.