Allan Hayes is just one of the 8,400 people in Leeds with dementia.
Currently around eight per cent of all over-65s in the city have the illness. But the total number of sufferers is likely to increase by 40 per cent to 11,900 in 15 years time.
Around a quarter of all hospital admissions are older people with dementia, often being treated for other health problems.
That can lead to Mr Hayes’s experience of being moved between hospital, care home and mental health unit several times.
Across Leeds, the number of dementia beds has been cut as focus shifts to diagnosing the illness sooner and caring for people in their own homes.
Mental health bosses say they are improving their community services and aiming to reduce the need for people to be taken into hospital, especially dementia patients.
A spokesman for Leeds and York Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust said: “Acute care for such people is not always in their best interests and we can avoid these experiences by having much earlier involvement, supporting the family and preparing for appropriate long term care, in a more organised way that benefits the needs of the individual who has dementia.”
He said that The Mount provided improved care.
“The service at The Mount offers far more treatment and activity and has access to the skills and experience needed including medical and pharmacy provision.
“The trust has also reinvested a large resource in both memory services, which will ensure that the need for beds reduces over time, and care home services, so staff can support those with more complex needs who go into long term care.”
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Under the plans, Asket Croft will be redeveloped as a community hub for mental health services in East Leeds.
The spokesman added: “Due to an increasingly ageing population we need to ensure we focus on earlier detection, rather than waiting for people in crisis who then need a bed.”
But he added that the trust accepted more could be done to improve facilities at the Mount.
“It has been recognised that further work can be done to enhance the internal environment so that it better meets the needs of the people who use the service.
“A business case has been developed and outlines how we aim to improve the service to meet these needs.”
Across the city, a draft Dementia Strategy has been drawn up to work out how best to improve care. In particular health and council bosses want to ensure earlier diagnoses as more than half of all sufferers don’t have a formal diagnosis.
Peter Ruickbie, support services manager for the Alzheimer’s Society in Leeds, said: “With the number of people with dementia increasing, it is vital society is in a position to support people.
“We work closely with organisations throughout Leeds to ensure that people with dementia have access to good quality care which is appropriate to their needs, whether they are living at home, in a care home or in hospital.
“From communities to health and social care professionals, we all have a part to play to support people to live well with dementia.”
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