Ireland lags in diagnosis and care of dementia

Monday 23 January 2012

A new report concludes that dementia continues to be underfunded and underprioritised in Ireland. This report will lay the foundation for Ireland's first national strategy for dementia, which the government has promised to develop by 2013.

According to co-author Prof Suzanne Cahill of Trinity College, Ireland is behind many other European countries when it comes to diagnosing and treating those affected by dementia.

There are some 41,000 Irish people with dementia, of which 26,000 live at home; most of these have probably never been formally diagnosed. The same applies to long-stay facilities, where as many as two in three people have dementia, but very few have diagnoses.

The total annual cost of dementia is estimated at EUR 1.7 billion per year, almost half of which can be attributed to informal care provided by family and friends. Over 40% can be attributed to residential long-stay care, while the average cost per person with dementia is an estimated EUR 40,000.

The report notes that additional public spending is needed in this area and points out that Irish GPs experience difficulties diagnosing this illness and would welcome increased training in this area.

"Creating Excellence in Dementia Care: A Research Review for Ireland's National Dementia Strategy" was produced by researchers at Trinity College, St James's Hospital in Dublin and the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology in Galway.

For more information, please see http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/learning/report-creating-excellence-dementia-care-research-review