Dementia: The cost of care for behaviourally disturbed patients living in the community

Objective. To determine the cost of care of people with dementia and behavi oural disturbances living in the community, which is currently unknown. Design, setting & patients. This is a study of 12 randomly selected subject s attending a continuing care dementia day facility for people with behavio ural disturbances. Measures. Hours of care received from different sources were recorded and c osted. Results. The total mean direct costs to the public services was pound 400 p er person per week. Caregiver's time costed at professional rates were poun d 1208 per person per week. Conclusions. Unpaid caregivers supported by publicly funded agencies provid e a less expensive service compared to specialised institutional care. Copy right (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.