Dementia on the rise
Health and Wellness Minister Robert Henderson says government has hired a senior policy analyst to help with the provincial dementia strategy
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James Aylward wants to know why P.E.I. doesn’t have a dementia strategy.
Aylward, MLA for StratfordKinlock, raised this concern during question period in the provincial legislature Thursday, noting a dementia strategy since it has been in the works since 2009.
“This province is currently the only province in this great nation of Canada that does not have a dementia strategy,” said Aylward.
Aylward pointed to the fullyfunded Ontario model that helps ensure people living with dementia, care partners and families have access to the resources and services needed to live as well and as long as possible.
“Why are Islanders with dementia being denied these services?” asked Aylward.
Robert Henderson, minister of health and wellness, said government is working with staff at community care facilities and long-term care facilities and plans to implement initiatives soon.
Henderson said they have hired a senior policy analyst to work on developing some of the strategies.
He adds the analyst will study what facilities are out there and how senior care is delivered in the province.
“We have to make sure that we are spending our money wisely and that we are getting the maximum value,” he explained. “We see that the Alzheimer’s and dementia situations do seem to be on the rise and we are projecting that that will be a greater issue as we move forward and we just want to make sure that we are getting our expenditures right.”
Henderson said one of the issues they are currently looking at include the senior’s assessments screening tool. He said P.E.I. is the only province in Canada that uses this tool and he wants to see what other provinces are doing when it comes to screening and identifying individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Aylward pushed Henderson on when Islanders will see a dementia strategy in the province.
Henderson said they are working on the strategy and feels in light of this recent budget with a 5.8 per cent increase in expenditures, that they will meet the many challenges and issues within the health-care system on P.E.I.