Waiting lists grow as Alzheimer’s toll rises in Alicante

MORE people are dying as a result of Alzheimer’s than ever before.

Four out of every hundred people in the Alicante province die as a result of the disease.

Figures from the National Statistics Institute show that in 2000, 212 people died from the disease but in 2011, that figure was up to 580. The population growth experienced in the last decade of 32 per cent, does not justify the increase of 173 per cent in the deaths from Alzheimer’s.

The figures show that the degenerative disease of the nervous system is the only one to increase at a higher rate than the population growth.

Judy Ferris from the Association of Friends and Relatives of Alzheimer’s Sufferers in Torrevieja (AFA) agrees with the findings. She said: “More and more people are becoming affected by Alzheimer’s which is a huge problem as we only have so much room and our waiting list is growing with more than 60 people requesting help and assistance.”

AFA Torrevieja is a non-profit association created in 2004 to improve the life-quality of sufferers and relatives. “We work on the patient’s need for stimulation to prolong the length and quality of their life. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s. People die as a result of the disease stopping messages to the brain to keep the body working.”

AFA Torrevieja is one of 11 AFA centres across the Valencian Region and is supported by the town hall, but it still relies on public and NGO donations to cover the €400,000 it costs to run the centre each year.