Dementia diagnoses to rise sharply

CARERS of people with dementia are at crisis point and waiting lists for services have increased by 20% in the last year, a charity has warned.

Launching its pre-budget submission today, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland said demographics for dementia are set to soar — yet Ireland has no cohesive plan to deal with the economic costs and health needs of the population living with the condition.

In the next 15 years alone, the number of people living with dementia will increase from 44,000 today to 70,115 in 2026.

Additionally, people under 65 years with early-onset dementia do not qualify for any HSE supports as they do not fall under the category for older people or for mental health services.

A spokesman for the society said this gap in services needed to be urgently addressed as part of a wider national dementia strategy, to which the government committed in its programme for government.

The society’s head, Maurice O’Connell, said while the challenges of the current economic situation are recognised, the charity is “acutely aware” of the increasing numbers of people affected by dementia, their growing care needs and the cost to the State.

“We must act now to plan for the future. I firmly believe that the argument for our pre-budget demands for 2012 is not just a moral one but importantly an economic one too,” he said.

“We recognise the fiscal difficulties that the government is facing and we wish to take a flexible response to working with policy makers regarding funding structures, service delivery and to ensuring the strategy is delivered successfully.”

The society has now launched a campaign to encourage elected officials to drive the programme for government commitment through the roll out of an “Alzheimer pledge”.

By encouraging elected officials to sign up to the Alzheimer pledge, the society hopes to mobilise further support for the National Dementia Strategy through the development of a Friends of Dementia cross party group.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Henry O’Connell who specialises in the psychiatry of later life, maintains that there are no clear pathways of referral for assessment, diagnosis and management of the disorder.

“The lack of a coherent and functioning dementia strategy in Ireland has a direct impact on people with dementia and their families and carers, who had no clear pathways for treatment of what is a profoundly life-changing and ultimately terminal disease,” he said.

* To register your support for a National Dementia Strategy log on to www.alzheimer.ie