THERE are some three quarters of a million elderly people who suffer from dementia.

Too often, this vulnerable group is confronted by nurses and carers who regard this population without empathy.

Sometimes, the attitude is more like disgust at, eg, double incontinence.

Those working in this Cinderella service need to be taught to view dementia patients with sympathetic detachment no matter what the symptoms – particularly as we are living longer and longer.

ML Grey, West Wycombe Road, High Wycombe