Australian of the Year and dementia advocate Ita Buttrose has called for a greater focus from government and community on early detection for dementia.
Speaking at the Australian Medical Association Charitable Foundation dinner on Friday, the founding editor of Cleo Magazine highlighted the heart-breaking stories she had heard from people who spent years trying to understand what was wrong before finally receiving a diagnosis.
Ms Buttrose, Alzheimer's Australia president, believes the delay in a diagnosis for people with Alzheimer's is time spent wondering what is wrong and not being able to plan for the future.
Alzheimer's Australia is part of a project to train Australian GPs on dementia assessment and management.
The federal government also committed $200 million over five years to dementia research, a move Ms Buttrose welcomed.
But she argues health ministers need to agree that a national dementia framework is urgently needed and Australians need to think about dementia as a chronic disease and not an inevitable part of ageing.
The AMA Charitable Foundation raises funds and make donations to worthy causes in NSW.
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