Dementia set to rise by 50%
The number of people with dementia in Perth and Kinross is expected to increase by 50 per cent within the next 15 years.
Perth and Kinross has an older population than the rest of Scotland with almost a quarter of residents aged over 65.
In response to this increasingly ageing population the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board this week approved a new plan bringing care closer to home for its elderly population.
The Older People Strategic Delivery Plan for 2022-25 was approved at a virtual meeting of the board on Wednesday, March 30.
The three-year plan aims to support older people in Perth and Kinross to live healthy and active lives.
The plan prioritises early intervention - shifting the balance of care from hospital to the community and ensuring people only stay in hospital as long as they need to.
The board was told in 2018 23 per cent of the Perth and Kinross population was over 65 compared with 19 per cent in the rest of Scotland. And 11 per cent of the Perth and Kinross population was over 75 compared with eight per cent in the rest of Scotland.
Perth and Kinross has a population of over 151,000. By 2024 there are expected to be 19,500 local residents aged over 75.
The report stated the age of 75 was “the approximate age when the majority of people need the support of health and social care services”
The board was told the increasingly ageing population was “already impacting on demand for services in Perth and Kinross”.
There has been a 5.9 per cent increase in the average weekly Care at Home hours from September
2019 to December 2021. The number of residents using a community alarm has doubled from 2000 in
2018 to 4000.
The report also stated an estimated 3300 people in Perth and Kinross were living with dementia.
This is expected to expected to increase by around 120 each year amounting to a 50 per cent increase within the next 15 years.
The new plan looks to bring an alternative to admission to a care home or hospital. It will see Perth and Kinross adopt a new approach called Homefirst. This approach aims to “ensure a smoother and swifter return home from hospital for older people who need hospital treatment”.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, IJB chair Bob Benson said:“Perth and Kinross has more older people compared to the rest of Scotland and it is imperative that we put in place a strategy that best meets their needs.
“This delivery plan for the next three years clearly sets out our ambitions and financial commitment to ensure older people, and their carers, lead healthy, active and independent lives with choice and control over their care and support.”
The plan was approved at Wednesday’s meeting.