Pressure on dementia care

A lack of space in secure dementia units is pushing some families to look for care more than an hour from their home.

The situation is so bad one region has only a single space left, with some at more than 95 per cent occupancy, effectively meaning they are full. The most recent figures show there was one bed available in South Canterbury DHB and six in Hutt Valley DHB.

Those two DHBs have the highest occupancy rates, among 11 areas where more than 90 per cent of dementia beds are full.

It is frustrating for families and care providers in the pressure points, NZ Aged Care Association chief executive Simon Wallace said. ‘‘I hear cases from my members from Timaru, for example, where [people] have to be looking at Christchurch for a dementia bed.’’

Occupancy rates from September last year range from 74 per cent in Wairarapa DHB to 98 per cent in South Canterbury, according to Technical Advisory Services figures. This covers care in a specialised dementia unit, not people with dementia who get rest home care, respite care, or who live in the community.

A unit would be considered full at 95 per cent, Wallace said.

And the association forecasts about 3000 more care beds will be needed by the end of the decade.

Smaller populations generally struggle to keep specialist facilities, and not just in aged care, Eldernet director Esther Perriam said. The system responds as best it can with current resources, she said, but it was a good time to look at aged care funding models.

South Canterbury DHB had one secure dementia bed available at the end of September 2019 and the country’s highest occupancy rate – 98 per cent. The DHB could not provide comment before deadline but Alzheimers South Canterbury said people needing permanent care had to take places in areas including Ashburton and Oamaru over the past six months. Families often chose to keep loved ones in a unit once settled, chairperson Karen Foster said, ‘‘which has considerable personal cost to relatives visiting and supporting’’.

Hutt Valley had a 96 per cent occupancy and six beds available.

Occupancy rates have been static for the past two years, a statement from director of provider services Joy Farley said.

In times of high occupancy, the DHB can use other areas or providers. The lowest occupancy rate – 74 per cent – was found in Wairarapa DHB. However, it used to average 96 per cent before the addition of 20 new beds, of which only three are currently occupied, a DHB statement said. The secondlowest was in Hauora Taira¯ whiti, covering Gisborne and East Cape, and the DHB said people in the area often preferred to care for loved ones at home.

Dementia care is a big, growing issue, Alzheimers NZ chief executive Catherine Hall said, and ‘‘we must act now or we will never catch up’’.

About 3000 more care beds will be needed by the end of the decade. NZ Aged Care Association