Rise in demand for dementia helpline

A national helpline for dementia has revealed last year was its busiest yet, with a 20% rise in calls overall, and double the amount of calls from early stage dementia sufferers.

A third of all calls came from Dublin, followed by Cork, Kildare, and Galway. Almost half said they had not yet spoken to a GP about dementia.

The helpline, which is the only one of its kind in Ireland, is run by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) six days a week and manned by a team of trained staff and volunteers.

In 2014, the large majority of calls to this helpline (77%) were from women, which supports research recently published by Alzheimer Research UK.

The data shows that women are the most affected by dementia in terms of prevalence rates, and also because figures show they are 2.5 times more likely than men to be looking after someone suffering from dementia.

The study warns dementia is causing some women to become marginalised — both as carers and as patients.

Manager of Ireland’s dementia helpline Samantha Taylor said the ASI wants to empower those suffering from dementia to live in their communities for as long as possible following a diagnosis.

“As our ethos is to place the person with dementia at the centre of everything we do we are encouraged to see more people with dementia contacting us directly as well as on behalf of their loved ones,” said Ms Taylor.

“The numbers of people diagnosed with dementia are expected to treble by 2041, so a national dementia helpline is a vital resource.”

Ms Taylor also urged sufferers to call the helpline if they are unsure about anything or need advice.

“We would appeal to anyone who has concerns about dementia either for themselves or for a loved one to call our helpline and speak to one of our trained advisers today. Don’t wait, just make that call,” she said.

“It is clear from the complexity of calls and emails that people living with dementia and their carers need support throughout every stage of their journey. This condition affects not only the person who is diagnosed and their immediate loved ones, but all family members, relatives and friends, and in a wide range of ways.”

Currently, there are approximately 48,000 people living with dementia nationwide and around 4,000 of these are under the age of 65.

• Alzheimer Society of Ireland helpline is 1800 341 341.