Charles Camilleri noticed the first symptoms of dementia in his late wife, Mary, while playing Scrabble, something the 70-year-old loved to do.

Ms Camilleri battled dementia for six years and her husband was one of the first to help raise awareness about the condition.

Yesterday he spoke at the launch of a book called X’ħin hu? (What time is it?), published by the Parliamentary Secretariat for the Elderly, which will be distributed at day centres, homes for the elderly and hospitals.

A book called In-nannu nesa x’jisimni (Grandfather forgot my name) was distributed among summer schools last year.

Written by Charles Scerri and Trevor Żahra, the latest book targets an older audience: elderly people who spend time with others who start showing signs of dementia.

It lists home alterations that would help people with dementia, such as reducing the number of mirrors, using non-slip carpets of the same colour and avoiding gas burners.

Mr Camilleri suggested letting people with dementia participate in daily activities they used to do before developing the progressive impairment.

“Mary used to cook before she developed dementia, so I still involved her in the kitchen. Keeping a memory album with pictures is also a good idea.

“There is not bigger pain than when she could not recognise her son or saw a photo of myself in my elderly days and say that was not her husband,” he said.

He said he found big help from neighbours and relatives who kept an eye on his wife when he could not.

Another person who has been through the ordeal, Sister Vinnie Catania from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Balzan, agreed that carers suffered more because they saw their relatives deteriorating.

Sister Vinnie’s mother, Rosaria, suffered vascular dementia after a stroke and found it difficult to express herself.

She praised the services offered for people with dementia, adding that when she opened the new book, it felt like she was opening the door of a house where people with dementia lived.

Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea said the number of people with dementia in Malta would rise from 5,000 to 14,000 by 2060 (3.5 per cent of the Maltese population in 2060).

Worldwide, a case of dementia is diagnosed every four seconds and the total cost is equivalent to oneper cent of the entire world’s annual GDP.

The Government had invested in a €9 million project to set up a block at St Vincent de Paul residence, offering a dementia-friendly environment, Mr Galea said.

Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital is also offering a memory clinic service for sufferers.

For further details

•Activity Centre, St Vincent de Paul residence (for people with dementia and their relatives 2122 4461
•Dementia Helpline: 2208 1826
•Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital, housing the Memory Clinic: 2208 0000
•www.maltadementiasociety.org.mt
•www.alzheimer-europe.org