For once, I agree with Iain Dale. Dementia is a cruelly debilitating illness and the affect on the relatives of those who suffer from it can be as be quite devastating. To find that someone you have lived with and loved for decades is no longer able to even recognise you is almost too painful to describe in words. The figures from our last Public Health Report showed that without some form of a cure being found we can anticipate as many as 20% of the population experiencing dementia once they are in their 80's.

We have found numerous way to keep the body alive longer, and to preserve physical abilities, and with smoking cessation on the increase it may be perfectly reasonable to expect those who would previously have had a life expectancy in their 70's to live well in to their 80's. However, unless we start to address the issues of mental health and dementia for the elderly, we will have to ask ourselves some serious questions about quality of life.

As for the Thatcher spawn... should we be surprised? As with Prescott's bulimia revelations, she will no doubt dribble excuses about how she is trying to raise these serious issues, whereas in reality she is trying to titillate and flog books. Where I do disagree with Iain Dale is that Carol Thatcher is not 'intruding', she is exploiting her mother's illness for financial gain. Like her stupid money grabbing brother, this is another Thatcher we could do without!