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Noteworthy! Bengaluru Gets Online Dementia Clinic
Writer: Ratika Rana
Her primary objective is to inform, promote, educate and cultivate readers through writing.
Karnataka, 22 Sep 2021 3:15 PM GMT | Updated 22 Sep 2021 3:36 PM GMT
Editor : Madhusree Goswami |
A mountain girl trying to make it big in the city. She loves to travel and explore and hence keen on doing on-ground stories. Giving the crux of the matter through her editing skills is her way to pay back the journalism its due credit.
Creatives : Ratika Rana
Her primary objective is to inform, promote, educate and cultivate readers through writing.
The new web portal will allow dementia patients to get medical help from the comfort of their homes. The initiative is a step towards providing accessible and affordable healthcare under the Mental Health Act, 2017.
On September 21, World Alzheimer's Day, the Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSi) launched 'Demiclinic', an online expert-led platform for dementia patients. Launched in collaboration with NGO Nightingales that provides care to the elders, the virtual assessment platform is reportedly the first such platform in the country. The new web portal will allow dementia patients to get medical help from the comfort of their homes. The initiative is a step towards providing accessible and affordable healthcare under the Mental Health Act, 2017.
A Greater Number of People Falling Prey To The Disease
Dr Pratima Murthy, Professor of Psychiatry and Director at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), said at the launch of the event that more than five million people in India live with dementia. The Indian Express quoted her as saying, "It is terrible to see highly placed professionals like teachers, bureaucrats or a practising doctor gradually lose their faculties, especially in the area of memory. It's very distressing". She further added that it is frustrating for people in earlier stages of the disease not to remember and identify specific things. She mentioned that as the disease progresses, people forget that they have even forgotten. We now see a more significant number of people falling prey to the disease.
Dr Radha Murthy, the President of the Bengaluru Unit, said that current services for dementia are inadequate and around 90 per cent of the patients go undiagnosed. "A dearth of memory clinics and mental health professionals make the scope of early diagnosis and intervention minuscule", she added.
46,000 Cases in Bengaluru
Dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder that has a lasting impact on patients and caregivers. According to the Dementia India report, 5.3 million people above 60 years have dementia, and the number is expected to double in the next 20 years. In Bengaluru itself, more than 46,000 elders are suffering from the disease. The disease has no cure, and extreme stages lead to disability and morbidity among the patients.
Also Read: Nearly 5 Million People In India Suffer From Dementia, A Disease With No Cure
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