Better future for Aussies with Alzheimer’s
An urgent national approach to the diagnosis and care of people with dementia is critical according to the findings of a report launched this week at the Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) conference in Melbourne.
An urgent national approach to the diagnosis and care of people with dementia is critical according to the findings of a report launched this week at the Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) conference in Melbourne.
Stemming from a roundtable discussion between a team of leading health professionals from around the country, the report reveals barriers and potential solutions as part of a national approach to the diagnosis, treatment and care of Australians living with dementia.
Ita Buttrose, Australian of the Year and national president of Alzheimer’s Australia, launched the report titled Collaborating for a better future for Australians living with Alzheimer’s disease, released by Alzheimer’s Australia and sponsored by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly Australia (Lilly).
Ms Buttrose said the report would provide valuable input to the development of a new National Action Framework on dementia by Australian health ministers.
“The report recognises that every individual with dementia is unique and that care services and support should respond to the needs of the particular individual,” Ms Buttrose explained.
“This is why the principle of partnership between the person with dementia and the family carer on the one hand and health care professionals and care services on the other is so important,” she added.
Professor Henry Brodaty, director of the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre and co-director of the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, University of New South Wales, who chaired the roundtable, agreed a national approach was imperative.
“The report puts forward a number of potential solutions that may form part of a national approach. One such solution is a National Dementia Registry aimed at ensuring that patients and their carers do not ‘fall through the cracks’,” Professor Brodaty said.
He also recommended therapies and services were logged and followed up on, to improve the timely access to and delivery of appropriate information and services.
Professor Brodaty also noted that together with an ageing population, a lack of specialist dementia and aged care professionals would pose significant challenges to society, indicating a critical need for a welltrained and remunerated dementia care workforce.
The Collaborating for a better future for Australians living with Alzheimer’s disease report is available for download at www.fightdementia.org.au
