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TV presenter Ruth Langsford has spoken openly about her personal experience caring for her mother, who suffers from dementia. She emphasizes the importance of “living in the moment” with her mother, highlighting the challenges of dealing with the condition day by day. Langsford also advocates for speeding up the diagnosis process, so that individuals affected by dementia and their families can receive the necessary care and support sooner.
Having grown up in Surrey, Langsford has firsthand experience with the impact of dementia in her family. She has cared for her 94-year-old mother, Joan, and previously witnessed her late father Dennis’s struggle with the disease before his passing in 2012. Reflecting on her mother’s condition, Langsford shared on BBC Radio Surrey, “I live in that moment with her because as soon as I walk out the door she doesn’t remember that I have been.” This quote illustrates the emotional reality of caring for someone whose memory is fading.
Langsford also expressed how difficult it is to obtain a diagnosis for dementia. She explained, “The hardest thing is getting a diagnosis. Once you know what you are dealing with you can start to accept what is happening.” She added that increasing awareness is crucial since “dementia changes all the time and not everyone’s is the same.” While she is grateful that her mother still recognizes her, Langsford has found her father’s experience confronting the diagnosis especially heartbreaking.
Joan, Langsford’s mother, initially cared for her father Dennis in their family home in Cornwall before the family relocated closer to Ruth. The prolonged delay in dementia diagnosis is an issue underlined by a report from the Alzheimer’s Society, where Langsford is an ambassador. The report revealed that people typically wait an average of three and a half years from first noticing symptoms to receiving an official diagnosis. Michelle Dyson, chief executive of the charity, criticized the current state of dementia care in the UK, stating, “Dementia care in the UK is stuck in a system of delay, denial and neglect.” She further emphasized that while other serious illnesses like cancer have much faster diagnostic pathways, dementia patients continue to face extensive waits and missed opportunities for timely support
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