A HEARTBROKEN pensioner says cases of dementia are becoming as frequent as cancer, after discovering so many people are being affected by the devastating disease.

Walney resident Madge Bazley said she had been approached in the street by many people keen to share their own experiences of the condition.

The 84-year-old, whose husband Eric is being cared for at an advanced dementia unit in Wakefield, Yorkshire, is now pleading for health bosses to prioritise spending on dementia to ensure vital care services are available in Barrow.

"It's too late for me and Eric now," Mrs Bazley said.

"But I want to do what I can to stop this happening to other people.

"We must have somewhere here for people to go if they need special help.

"I feel more at peace now I've seen him in Wakefield.

"But he is so far away and it's so lonely without him."

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Mrs Bazley spoke out about the torture of being wrenched apart from love of her life Eric last month when the former shipyard worker was moved from Barrow's Dane Garth to a specially designed unit for dementia sufferers exhibiting challenging behaviour at The Priory.

Though the facility is privately run, Eric's care is being paid for by Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - the organisation that provides mental health services in the county.

But the couple's story has resulted in residents of the town contacting Mrs Bazley with their own concerns surrounding the availability of dementia care services in the area.

The mother of one, who has been married to Eric for 62 years, said: "I didn't realise so many people are affected by dementia - it's like cancer these days.

"It makes me so angry that we haven't got the facilities for people here.

"They have got to find the money. It makes me so angry."

It is predicted that a steady increase in rates of dementia will leave more than 1 million people with the disease in the UK by 2025.

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In Cumbria, around 5,000 people have been given an official diagnosis - which represents around two thirds of those actually living with it.

In response to Mr and Mrs Bazley's experience, David Rogers, medical director for Cumbria's Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "The number of people needing this type of intensive care for advanced dementia is very small.

"This type of specialist centre therefore covers a wider geographical area and population than Cumbria alone.

"If a patient has been assessed as needing that level of specialist input to meet their specific needs, then we would have to look for a specialist centre which may be out of county. "We appreciate that this can be very difficult for the patient’s family, but we have to consider the patient’s clinical needs."

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