Dementia patients should stick to daily goals in order to live longer, new research has suggested.
Fulfilling objectives throughout the day, such as meeting grandchildren, making tea or going for a walk can help people with dementia remain independent for longer.
A ‘game-changing’ trial found that patients looked after by carers or relatives at home could save nearly £9,000 a year by avoiding hospital.
Nearly one million people suffer from dementia in the UK, two thirds of whom live at home.
Caring for those with the condition, for which there are no effective treatments, is set to cost the health service as much as £90billion each year by 2040.
The one-year study published in Lancet Health Longevity involved sessions delivered by support workers to patients and carers to help them achieve their priorities, the Times reported.
Setting daily goals can help dementia patients live longer by helping them to stay independent at home and avoid hospital, a new trial has found (file photo)
The NIDUS-Family programme, delivered in a series of remote lessons for patients and their carers, helps dementia suffers achieve their priorities such as seeing grandchildren and doing exercise, while easing the financial burden on the NHS
A total of 302 dementia sufferers participated in the trial, in which two thirds took the new programme, entitled NIDUS Family.
Each patient received six to eight remote lessons to help them to set important goals such as getting themselves dressed, doing exercise and completing household chores.
The new therapy could be rolled out to support existing dementia care within the NHS, the study’s lead author, Professor Claudia Cooper from Queen Mary University of London said.
Senior author Professor Rachel Hunter from University College London said the new intervention would deliver ‘tangible benefits’ for patients while easing the financial burden on the NHS.
The programme can be delivered for £346 per person – far less than the £8,934 it saves annually in health and social care costs.
Dr Richard Oakley, from the Alzheimer’s Society, which funded the study, said the NIDUS-Family programme is a ‘game-changing intervention’.
He said: ‘This research shows we have at our fingertips a cost-effective, realistic solution offering people living with dementia access to tailored, personalised support to achieve their own goals, which we would like to see as an option in routine care.’
