West London Business member Knight Frank has released its latest Retirement Living report: The importance of dementia-friendly Retirement Living.
Dementia in the UK
- Dementia has been identified as one of the major public health issues of the 21st century, owing to an aging population
- 1 million people in the UK will have dementia by 2025. By 2050 this will double to 2 million people.
- The current cost of dementia in the UYK is £29bn per year. This will rise to £55bn by 2040.
- Dementia has higher health and social care costs than cancer and chronic heart disease combined– it is set to hit $1trillion globally this year, larger than the annual GDP of more than 170 individual countries around the world.
Housing for those with dementia
- 39% of those living with dementia over 65 are living in either residential care or nursing homes. This leaves almost 500,000 over-65’s with dementia who are currently living outside of a specialist care environment.
- Those with dementia could spend £100,000 on their care over their lifetime, meaning it would take 125 years to save for this if an individual saved at the same rate as their pension.
- On average, the total cost of care is higher when an individual lives in a community setting i.e. a family home, compared to a residential setting i.e. care home.
- The market for specialised dementia housing in the UK is relatively immature, with a lack of adequate accommodation to support and cater for a person with a mild form of dementia.
- The UK lags behind countries such as Australia, France, and the US which have a range of options for those living with dementia.
The way forward
- Specialist Retirement Living units which have been designed to accommodate dementia sufferers provide a cost-effective way to deliver care whilst enabling residents to retain their independence.
- Marchese Partners, an Australian-based firm of architects, master planners and interior designers has devised a series of design principles based around familiarity, legibility, distinctiveness, accessibility, connectivity, safety and choice
- By following these design principles centred around the individual and their wellbeing, residents, irrespective of age or levels of care, can living in retirement living schemes together.
