Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Nov 1990

Vol. 403 No. 3

Written Answers. - Alzheimers Disease.

Richard Bruton

Question:

13 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the estimated number of sufferers of Alzheimers Disease in this country; the adequacy of existing services to cope with their needs in an appropriate manner; and the plans he has to develop further facilities for sufferers.

Minister for Health (Dr. O'Hanlon)

The working party report The Years Ahead — A Policy for the Elderly estimated that between five and eight per cent of persons aged 65 and over suffer from dementia. It is expected that by the end of this decade there will be approximately 20,000 persons over 65 suffering from the disease, of which a smaller number would be severely affected. There is no firm information available at present on the numbers of those affected under the age of 65.

The working party report, which has been agreed by Government as policy towards the elderly, recommended that in each community care area responsibility for developing services for those with dementia and their relatives should lie with the co-ordinator of services for the elderly. It recommended the appointment of care assistants to provide support in the home of the person suffering from dementia. The report also specified requirements in relation to day care and day hospital places and recommended the appointment of additional psychiatrists with responsibility for the elderly.

Public awareness of Alzheimers Disease has also been heightened in recent years by the tremendous work which is being done by the Alzheimers Society. This is a voluntary organisation formed by relatives of persons suffering from the disease. Their aims are to provide support to families of sufferers, to carry out research and to campaign for better services. Lottery grants and section 65 payments have been made to the society on various occasions and the society has been further supported by an additional national lottery grant of £20,000 last week. This grant will contribute towards the society's costs in funding the first study of the prevalence of Alzheimers Disease in this country. This research will also include information on those under 65 who are suffering from this disease.

It is the policy of my Department that the needs of people with Alzheimers Disease and their carers will be met in the first instance by community care services supported by specialist psychiatric and geriatic services. The first two psychiatrists specialising in the care of the elderly mentally ill and infirm have been appointed recently in Dublin. The north Dublin service is based in James Connolly Memorial Hospital. The facilities provided include a high support day care centre at St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview and in James Connolly Memorial Hospital. The south Dublin service is based in St. James's Hospital. Both services provide domiciliary assessment of persons with dementia. Proposals are at an advanced stage to appoint a third psychiatrist specialising in the care of the elderly mentally ill and infirm in south Dublin, based at St. Vincent's Hospital.

In 1988 two 32 bed units specifically designed for the elderly mentally infirm were opened at Vergemount Hospital, Clonskeagh and plans are at an advanced stage for the opening of a new unit at Tivoli Road, Dún Laoghaire. A further two such units are also planned for St. Clare's, Ballymun.

The Government in the budget statement of January, 1990 made an additional £5 million available to the health service in the current year to implement the recommendations of the report. Comprehensive plans for the deployment of these funds have been prepared by the eight health boards and are being implemented at present. The additional allocation is being used to strengthen and expand home care and community facilities for the elderly including those with Alzheimers Disease. The home care teams for the elderly being established by a number of health boards with this additional funding will greatly increase the support available to sufferers of Alzheimers Disease and their carers.