THE number of people living with dementia in Herefordshire is set to increase by 42% in the next decade, leaving families struggling to cope, a leading charity has warned.

More than 4,700 people are estimated to have dementia in Herefordshire by 2030, up from 3,331 in 2019.

The report, commissioned by Alzheimer’s Society from the London School of Economics and Political Science, predicts as the population ages, more people with dementia will have higher care needs for longer.

As a result, they say this will drive up the average amount spent on care. In Herefordshire in 2019, dementia care costs £129 million. This will soar to £224 million by 2030.

Kumbi Mandinyenya, from Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Dementia is heart-breaking for families. It’s not right that those going through it have to battle to get the care they need on top of battling the disease.

“From the working mum struggling to find hundreds of pounds every week to ‘top up’ her mum’s council-funded care home place, to the woman who had to sell her home of 50 years to pay for her husband’s care – families affected by dementia are already at breaking point.

“With costs set to treble in the next two decades, how on earth will they cope?”