Dementia Day Service opens in Athlone

By Karen Webb

A new Dementia Day Service for Athlone, operated by the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI), was officially opened last week.

Minister for Older People Kieran O'Donnell officially opened the service at Abbey Road, Athlone, on Friday last, with the service being avaiable to service users from this Friday, June 13.

The ASI said the day service is another important step in the organisation’s ongoing mission to ensure that every person living with dementia in Ireland has access to vital support services. An estimated 1,154 people are living with dementia in Westmeath, the ASI revealed.

ASI's Head of Operations and Community Engagement Siobhan O'Connor said the service was a long time in the making. She said that two years ago when they opened up a centre in Multyfarnham, they were delighted to have it open and she paid tribute to Minister Robert Troy, who had played a huge role in securing that premises for them. However, she said while they were delighted to have the day service open there, on the day a team from Athlone asked when there would be a service in the Athlone area.

"In the summer we held a day in the Shamrock Lodge and met with families to see if there was a need, and then it began," added Siobhan.

She said the way the service was established was ideal because the location was already there ready to be used, there were clients ready to use it, funding came from government and they had collaboration with the HSE.

Siobhan commended the HSE in this area, saying when you have a problem and ring them, they will help you to find a solution. She also thanked the staff of the Multyfarnham service who will also be running the daycare service in Athlone.

Mayor of Athlone Frankie Keena said this was a special day for Athlone and said the number of politicians present showed there was great political support for the service.

"The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is doing marvellous work. This is the 58th centre in the country so I'd like to compliment you on this," he said.

Mayor Keena mentioned the families of those who have Alzheimer's or dementia, and said their family networks need support, advice and direction, and it was great to see the ASI giving that support.

He said his late mother, who passed away in 2008, had dementia for four or five years before she died.

"I can speak personally in relation to that and I know, from ourselves, we were always reaching out for support and advice and that was there, and very welcome," he said. "It is challenging for the families in how to handle people with dementia, and to have the centre here in Athlone is phenomenal."

Officially opening the day service, Minister for Older People Kieran O'Donnell said he had been appointed as Minister for Older People and so was in two government departments - Health and Housing.

"My remit is to improve the lives of older people across the spectrum. One of those areas is dementia services, which I have specific responsibility for. It's something I'm very, very committed to," he said.

"The first thing I did was to prioritise a national register for dementia. There is none, we now have one formally underway. It'll take about three years. In Ireland at the moment, we have 64,000 people with dementia, that will probably more than double over a relatively short period of time to 150,000," he said, adding that his background is as a chartered accountant and he believes in data.

He said the ASI did phenomenal work and he saw it as a collaborative partnership. Minister O'Donnell said he expected the day service would be a huge benefit to people in the locality with dementia, and their carers.

HSE General Manager of Older Persons Services Breege Donoghue commended Siobhan O'Connor and her team in the ASI for their continued dedication and hard work in bringing the service to fruition.

"It is essential that the HSE continues to plan and build for these services, through the partnership work with stakeholders," she said, adding that there were so many stakeholders in Westmeath providing services to older people and older people with disabilities.

ASI board member Cathy Reynolds thanked Minister O'Donnell for his support since taking up his role earlier this year and said they were very much encouraged by his commitment and engagement.

Commending him on the announcement of the dementia register, she said: "It is something we have been advocating for for quite a long time now and it is a hugely significant step forward in planning the work of vital dementia services across the country."

Minister of State at the Department of Finance and Longford/Westmeath TD Robert Troy, who was involved in bringing about the centre in Athlone, said once he was approached about it at the opening of the Multyfarnham centre, it became a priority for him.

Mentioning the team who run the Multyfarnham service and will be involved also with the Athlone one, Minister Troy said: "I can say from my own personal experience that you couldn't have a better team coming down into Athlone. My father previously attended Multyfarnham for a number of months. Unfortunately, he's gone into a nursing home in the last number of weeks, but it was the service of Multyfarnham that prolonged his stay at home.

"He received the love, the attention, the care that enhanced his quality of life before he had to go into a home, and enhanced the quality of life for my mother at home also. It's not just the service users who benefit, it's the wider family that has a huge benefit of a service such as this," he said.

CEO of ASI Andy Heffernan said it meant a huge amount to have the support of the politicians. He said the dementia landscape had changed significantly over the last 10 to 15 years, which was due to the proactive work done by the National Dementia Services, the Department of Health and political support.

"Things are moving, but we need to maintain that momentum," he said.

The new dementia-specific daycare service operated by The Alzheimer Society of Ireland will run on Fridays from 9.30am until 3.30pm and started today.

Anyone wishing to attend the service, or requiring more information, can contact Manager Leanne Taitt on 086 6075089 or email leanne.taitt@alzheimer.ie