A new ‘DCC Professor of Family Care in Dementia’ has been appointed to help enhance the experience of those caring for someone living with the condition.

Tracey Williamson joins the University of Worcester’s Association for Dementia Studies as part of a partnership between the University and Dementia Carers Count (DCC - formerly the Royal Surgical Aid Society).

There are currently around 700,000 family and friends caring for the 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and it is expected that there will be 1.2m people with dementia by 2040.

Supporting family carers will be even more important as the number of people living with dementia continues to grow.

Professor Williamson will lead on research with and for family carers and further raise the profile of the challenges that they face.

Professor Williamson said: “I am delighted to be joining the partnership between Dementia Carers Count and the Association of Dementia Studies and expect my involvement will further cement the excellent work between

these organisations.

“Recent years have seen a number of initiatives that have helped enhance family carers’ experiences, with many of these being led by staff and partners of the Association for Dementia Studies and, most recently, DCC’s new ground-breaking services for dementia carers.

"There is still much work to do to create better understanding of the challenges and opportunities a caring role brings and to identify ways of helping carers to feel more supported, empowered and resilient, and I look forward to being a part of it.”

Dementia Carers Count and the University’s Association for Dementia Studies have worked in partnership since 2012 to develop a national service offer to support families caring for a person living with dementia.