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WQ.93/2019
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2019
Question
Will the Minister advise members –
- whether the department holds information on the number of patients in the Island's care homes who are suffering from dementia or cognitive impairment and if not, why not;
- what plans, if any, there are for the provision of state-run nursing homes for dementia patients;
- what provision, if any, the department has made for respite care for dementia patients and their carers; and
- what the department's forecasts are for the growth, or otherwise, of the number of people with dementia in the Island?
Answer
- whether the department holds information on the number of patients in the Island's care homes who are suffering from dementia or cognitive impairment and if not, why not;
Health and Community Services is not the exclusive provider of care for people with dementia. As it does not have a regulatory function in this area it only holds information on people who are being supported in its care homes and inpatient facilities.
The care home facility managed by the Health and Community Services Department providing care for people with dementia and cognitive impairment is Sandybrook Nursing & Residential Care Home. Currently, 13 individuals have a confirmed diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment.
- what plans, if any, there are for the provision of state-run nursing homes for dementia patients;
The Health and Community Services department has no plans to extend government-provided nursing homes for dementia patients or those with cognitive impairment other than that which is currently provided at Sandybrook.
Where there continues to be gaps in service and lack of capacity within the independent care home sector to accommodate higher thresholds of complex need, Health and Community Services will continue to provide inpatient' based care and support at Rosewood House.
- what provision, if any, the department has made for respite care for dementia patients and their carers; and
Respite care for people with dementia and their carers is also termed as short breaks' and can include day services, domicilary care and residential care. Respite can be funded through the long- term care benefit. Health and Community Services does not provide residential respite services for people with dementia, however, day respite is provided by Health and Community Services' day centres following an assessment of need.
- What the department's forecasts are for the growth, or otherwise, of the number of people with dementia in the Island?
Assuming the recent level of net migration continues, the population is expected to rise from 104,200 to 130,000 by 2036. Further analysis suggests within the timescales of the next 20 years, diseases which affect mainly older age groups increase independently of migration.[1] It should be noted that the numbers in the projections report apply the population projections to current (2016) age-specific rates of the conditions referred to and do not take into account the likelihood of changes to the age-specific prevalence rates.
The number of people on the dementia register is estimated to double over the next 20 years, from 500 in 2016 to 1,000 in 2036.
At the end of 2017 there were 650 patients recorded on GP systems with a diagnosis of dementia. (Prevalence of health conditions in Jersey and their multi morbidity. Statistics Jersey, December 2018)