Mentally disabled face residential care wait

A BABY boom in the 1960s and 70s is being blamed for the burgeoning demand for full-time residential services for thousands of adult people with an intellectual disability.

Despite record levels of service provision and significant investment in disability services, there are 2,118 people with an intellectual disability waiting for residential services, an increase of 110 on last year’s figure.

In the past 30 years, the proportion of disabled people over 35 years of age who are severely intellectually disabled, has increased from 29% to 47%, a study shows.