Ageing population to put health service under more pressure

THE health service will come under more pressure into the future following research which shows the older population is set to double in the next 30 years.

Increasing numbers of highly dependent, frail and disabled older people will require new interventions and improved health and social care inputs, the PhD research findings presented at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) show.

Imminent demographic and social changes will cause huge growth in the number of family carers in the community, the joint research study on the subject by the WIT, the South Eastern Health Board and the University of Ulster found. Dr Paula Lane, a SEHB employee who works with the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences at the institute, says that with Ireland’s older population set to double in the years to 2031, pressure on family carers will grow.

“Policy initiatives introduced during the last 20 years have shifted much of the burden of care from institutions to the community. As a result, the number of family carers has grown and, in the light of the demographic trends apparent in the 2002 census, these numbers will increase further.”

The report also draws attention to the lack of support services for carers as well as the paucity of responsive respite care initiatives.

“It is important that service planning and resource allocation is reviewed continually to more explicitly reflect demographic trends, urban-rural movements, morbidity, mortality and health needs.

“Service planners have since consulted me on what carers may find beneficial and, for instance, respite services are being supported and part-funded by the South Eastern Health Board for the carers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease in Waterford.

“The findings of this research should assist policymakers and service planners to gain an insight to the totality of the care-giving experience.

The findings may inform and empower the expanding number of family carers of older people in our communities and promote their health and social gain.”