Dementia in the Elderly—A Community Problem

THIS valuable conference was held at Friends House on October 8th and 9th, 1964. It was organised by the National Association for Mental Health for staff concerned with the care and treatment of old people with mental deterioration, to consider common problems on an inter-disciplinary basis. Aves, formerly Chief Welfare Officer of the Ministry of Health, was in the Chair. They presented a great variety of material, both about practical services and on the general characteristics of elderly patients?for instance, Dr. Post's findings that senile dementia affects only about 12% of the over-eighties. Among the delegates were representatives from geriatric hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and welfare homes, as well as health visitors, psychiatric social workers, mental welfare officers, local authority medical officers , members of voluntary organisations , and at least one trade unionist.