ABSTRACT
Upwards of one in 20 of the population aged 65 and over in England and Wales suffer from a significant degree of dementia, and rates for dementia and cognitive impairment of up to 80% have been reported from institutional care settings for the elderly. Numbers of people in need of care over the coming decades are due to increase at a faster pace than the overall elderly population increases, due to the dis proportionate rise in the number of people aged 85 and over.
