The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Doing its best for those who live with dementia
KERRY, like every county in Ireland, is not sufficiently resourced to provide a basic minimum standard of care for people with dementia, the national headquarters of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) told The Kerryman recently.
It’s a stark message; even more stark when you consider some of the statistics the association provided. There are more than 4,100 carers in the county and over 1,370 people living at home with dementia. The association says that 52 services are needed to reach the minimum standard for those living with dementia; according to a mapping project carried out by the ASI and the HSE, just six of these are provided in Kerry.
After reading these statistics, it seemed important to move closer to the grassroots to gain a clearer sense of the county’s situation. Kay McNamara and Kathleen Herlihy obliged, meeting this reporter at the Imperial Hotal in Tralee town centre.
Kay heads up the Rosemary Day Care Centre in Tralee, open five days a week from 10am to 4pm, caring for up to 12 clients daily. It is the only ASI-run dementia-specific day-care in the county, and it also offers an information and advice service weekdays.
Kathleen is a co-ordinator for a home-care service which, with a small number of staff, caters to an area from Ballydesmond to Annascaul, and from Kilcummin to Tarbert. Providing some 90 hours’ service weekly – offering meal preparation, respite care, conversation, personal care, assistance with exercise and recreational activities, and more – it reaches some 35 to 40 families each week. A homecare service is also in place in south Kerry. The society does its best with limited resources for those living with dementia and carers tending to loved ones, a sometimes challenging and frightening experience.
But while Kay and Kathleen acknowledge that their services are limited, our conversation becomes as much about what they can do as what they can’t do – and they encourage family carers to get in touch with them before becoming overwhelmed at what they’re facing.
“The carer doesn’t realise they’re in hot water until it’s too late,” Kathleen explains. “Usually people reach crisis point before coming to us. Sometimes you’ ll find the carer is an elderly person, and they might not even know the ASI exists.
“If you go in and meet someone with dementia, you can’t just go, ‘John, have a shower there.’ You might have to coax them, and they may get agitated. It all takes time.”
“In the early stages, it might just be mild forgetfulness,” Kay adds. “But as it goes on up it can mean not being able to walk, not being able to speak, communicate. No two people would be the same.
“In an ideal world, we’d have a dementia-specific day-care centre in every town. That would alleviate a lot of the problem on the home-care front.
“A lot of clients with dementia may require supervision; they may wander, turn on a cooker, or light something. It’s very challenging, because it’s 24-7.”
The home-care service provides an average, roughly, of two-and-a-half hours’ care to clients each week. It works closely with the HSE and sometimes schedules visits to combine with
HSE care. Many referrals come from public health services.
Again, while services are limited, the ASI can at least point people in the direction of services they cannot provide themselves.
While the day-care facility asks for a small charge, this is not the case for home-care, they explain.
Of concern to them is that many may not know the services even exist, as those who need it are, many times, elderly, and may rely on others to tell them what’s available.
“I think the fear of the unknown is a big thing,” Kathleen says. “Once they touch base with us, it eases the burden.
“We could at least point them in the direction. In terms of awareness of dementia, there is still a taboo to some extent, and families won’t admit they have it.
“But we’re encouraging people to come forward. Even if we are limited, we’re a good starting point. Dementia advisors are there. We can sign-post the way to services, and we can take time to sit down with people.”
Many people are isolated from the day-care centre and the generic services that exist in most towns. But Kathleen and Kay emphasise that all people are entitled to services.
“There would be a lot of clients living up boreens or away from towns,” Kathleen says. “All people are entitled to services, and it’s important we do what we can to reach out to these people.
“Get in touch with us as soon as possible – it’s all about planning.”
The Alzheimer Society of Ireland in Kerry has a day-care centre in Balloonagh, contactable at (066) 718 0377. The north Kerry home care service can be contacted at the same number or at (087) 229 1583. They can also put you in touch with dementia advisers.
The south Kerry home care contact number is (086) 883 0577. Dementia advisers are available at (086) 781 2217 (East Kerry) and (021) 497 2504 (south Kerry). The National helpline number is (1800) 341 341.
While the ASI is part-funded by the HSE, donations are much-appreciated. To donate, you can visit https://www. alzheimer.ie/Get-Involved/ Fundraising/Donate.aspx.
“I think fear of the unknown is a big thing. But we can ease the burden”