Better dementia care is essential
As we get older, most of us experience lapses in memory, but dementia is something different. It’s time to stop treating dementia as a normal part of aging. This election, Ontario must take steps to deal with rising dementia cases.
According to the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario, 260,000 Ontarians live with dementia. Within 20 years, that number will double, meaning, most Ontarians will be impacted by dementia or know someone who is. As older adults are one of Canada’s fastest growing cohorts, the next provincial government must invest in solutions that enable diagnosis and access to ongoing, close-to-home dementia care for all Ontarians.
There’s no cure for dementia, but support can make a difference. Accurate cognitive assessment and diagnosis can mitigate the worst impacts of this condition. Research shows that lifestyle interventions, such as a change in diet or exercise, can have effects on cognitive function. When we get ahead of dementia, we have the potential to help prevent or delay cognitive decline, avoid crises events that lead to hospitalization and long-term-care placements, and help Ontarians age at home with their loved ones — where they want to be.
But for most, a dementia diagnosis is the beginning of a journey. Wait times for diagnosis can be a year or more, and cognitive function can decline and prognosis worsen. Patients and caregivers, who may have managed for years at home with support and resources, can find themselves unable to cope, turning to overwhelmed hospitals and long-term-care facilities.
Transition to these settings is often inappropriate or avoidable, reducing the quality of life for patients and increasing the burden on our health-care system. Ninety per cent of long-term-care residents in Ontario live with dementia or other forms of cognitive impairment. In Canada’s hospitals, persons living with dementia account for nearly 50 per cent of all alternative level of care designations, meaning that they don’t require a hospital setting.
Ontarians need and deserve better. What if your primary care provider co-ordinated with specialists and community agencies to support early, accurate cognitive assessments to detect signs of dementia or other memory impairment? What if your loved one could access one-stop dementia care within their own community?
This isn’t a pipe dream. An Ontario-made model already offers this approach to dementia care.
MINT Memory Clinic trains interdisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive dementia care and support for persons living with dementia and their caregivers. Collaborating geriatricians, psychiatrists and neurologists enable them to focus on complex cases. Local Alzheimer’s societies provide access to education and programs.
In 2019, an evaluation by the province found MINT Memory Clinics reduce wait times by nearly 50 per cent, reduce visits to the hospital, delay transition into long-term care, and reduce health-system costs associated by $26,000 per dementia patient. With support to train and establish new sites, this proven model can spread across the province, ensuring access with Ontario becoming a global leader.
The grey wave is already here. Ontarians can’t afford to wait. We need evidence-based policy solutions that solve some of our health-care system challenges, reducing wait times and increasing the value of every dollar invested in dementia programs. Regardless of political stripe, the next government can expand dementia care solutions to ensure all Ontarians have access to prevention, diagnosis and close-to-home postdiagnostic support.