AMID preparations last week for the publication of the government’s first national strategy on dementia, Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, visited one of his society’s cafés in Coventry. “A lady grabbed my arm as I walked by and said: ‘I’m completely lost and don’t recognise anyone’. I took her by the hand and we soon found her companion,” he said.

There are 60 Alzheimer’s cafés across England and they are examples of the society’s work – havens for carers and those with dementia, a condition that affects more than 700,000 people in the UK today, with nearly 2m predicted by 2050. Most are older people but dementia reaches across all boundaries of age, class and race.

For Hunt the strategy, due next month, is the culmination of nearly two years of work. “This will be the first commitment by any UK government to get to grips with this phenomenon. Our sense is that the potential is huge to change all our thinking and feeling about these illnesses.”

The Alzheimer’s Society campaigns on dementia issues and provides support for those with dementia and their carers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Hunt, 54, has held the £111,000-a-year post since 2003. He had worked for two government departments and, before that, in social work and then child protection with the NSPCC.

“I have always been motivated by an interest in justice and fairness. People with dementia are marginalised, not taken seriously and not given adequate services. For me the bottom line is – don’t write people off; treat them as individuals.

“When I applied for this job I was struck that, as a nation, we kidded ourselves that this doesn’t exist when, actually, it has hit almost every family. We need to bring it out of the shadows.”

High-profile cases help, like that of the writer Terry Pratchett. “A key turning point was when former president Ronald Reagan told the American people about his condition.”

The Alzheimer’s Society’s work is done across 240 branches by 1,750 staff and 5,000 volunteers. “We will spend £50m next year – far too little for what we have to achieve,” said Hunt. Funding comes primarily from donations, legacies and partnerships with individuals and businesses. The economic downturn may hit the society’s income. “I am looking at this right now. It will be tragic if our plans have to be put off. There is now real momentum.”

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