Honesty on dementia

BRITAIN’S former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as divisive as ever, has made a brief return to the headlines.

This is because so many files on her time in office have been released as has the film Iron Lady.

Just yesterday her successor David Cameron argued that the film should have been made “another day” because of the way it shows Mrs Thatcher struggling with dementia. His position has been supported by many of Mrs Thatcher’s admirers.

This seems bizarre and just the kind of “wet” response that would have so animated Mrs Thatcher in her prime. She is, after all, only one of millions suffering from dementia.

To pretend that the disease is not a crushing reality is an insult to all the individuals and families struggling with its consequences. Decline is as inevitable a part of life as growth and to shy away from it is the kind of dishonesty that can make a difficult situation even more so. It is not pleasant, far from it, but it is very real.

If we looked at these inevitabilities a bit more unflinchingly then we might rediscover the anger needed to defend the services so desperately needed by the vulnerable, weak and dependent no matter what their age — or record.