RESIDENTS of Dumbarton and the Vale are being invited to attend the screening of a new documentary that demonstrates the inequality that people with dementia and their carers face.

Alzheimer Scotland will stage the new campaign film, “Dementia: The True Cost”, from the local Dementia Resource Centre in Miller Street, Clydebank on October 23 at 12.30pm.

The charity’s “Fair Dementia Care” campaign seeks to end the inequalities faced by people living with advanced dementia, their families and carers, in terms of accessing appropriate health care and the disproportionate impact of social care charges.

They say people with advanced dementia do not currently have equality of access to free health care that people with other progressive and life limiting illnesses rightly have.

The short documentary explores the experiences of three carers and has been produced in partnership with author and retired journalist, Mike Edwards.

Mike, whose mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2015, talks candidly about his own experience of becoming a full-time carer.

He said: “I have reported on the work of Alzheimer Scotland over the years so when my mum was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2015, it really hit home. This documentary was an important one to produce and I hope that we have done a good job of getting to the heart of the story.

“I’m fortunate that I can look after my mum every day at home, but a lot of people aren’t in the same position and are struggling with the cost of care. I really wanted to help tell their stories in this short documentary.”

Henry Simmons, chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, added: “The documentary demonstrates the harrowing inequality that people with advanced dementia and their carers face.

“It is part of an ongoing campaign to secure cross-party political support in order to bring an end to this injustice.

“This issue has been hidden within our health and social care system because there is no proper definition of advanced dementia or meaningful recognition of individual changing needs.

“These needs are clearly health care needs and should be free at the point of delivery. They are not. This means that people with advanced dementia continue to pay for all their care.

“This is both unfair and unequal and this film highlights how we need to bring this to an end.”