66 respite beds for 30,000 dementia patients

A population of 30,000 living with dementia in the community has access to just 66 respite beds in nursing homes specifically designed to cater for the illness, a study has found.

The figure is stark against a backdrop of another 50,000 people acting as carers. In fact, just 11% of Irish nursing homes provide dedicated dementia care units and the majority that do have double the number of patients considered best practice by international norms.

The lack of dementia-specific care units (SCUs), at a time when an estimated 48,000 people are living with the condition, is particularly acute in the public sector — just one third of SCUs are run by the HSE or the voluntary sector.