Dementia affects one person in 20 aged over 65 and one person in five over 80. In the next 10 years, the number of people aged over 65 will increase by 15% and the number of people aged over 85 will increase by 27%.In cost of illness studies, the direct costs of Alzheimer’s disease alone exceed the combined cost of stroke, cancer and heart disease. There is much that can be done to improve the quality of life of older people with mental health problems and their carers.