New policy on dementia due

The Government will start work on a new national policy on dementia this year.
Minister of State at the Department of Health, Áine Brady, said current policy on dementia was informed by a number of reports and strategies, principally the Action Plan for Dementia. “There’s now a need to re-examine this issue and it is intended that preliminary work will be carried out in 2010 on scoping work for developing a Dementia Policy,” she told the Dáil.

The Action Plan for Dem-entia, published in 1999, outlines the complexity and range of issues involved in the effective management of dementia and emphasises the need for co-ordinated, multi-layered and well-resourced services, which are responsive to the individual needs of people with dementia and of those who care for them.
Authored by Dr Eamon O’Shea and Ms Siobhán O’Reilly of NUI Galway, the plan recommended increased funding, changes to service delivery mechanisms, expanded Old Age Psychiatry services, increased support for family carers and provision of day care and respite services.
While dementia is not solely related to age, it does affect 5 per cent of people over 65 years with the figure rising to 20 per cent in those aged over 80.
Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias affect more than 40,000 people in Ireland, with the number forecast to reach more than 104,000 by 2037.