Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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438. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a recent report that highlighted the fact that no area here meets a minimum basic standard for dementia care; the steps he will take to address this issue in the context of budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37213/18]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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As a response to the increasing number of people with dementia, the Irish National Dementia Strategy was launched in December 2014. The Strategy aims to improve dementia care to allow people with dementia to live well for as long as possible and have services and supports delivered as well as possible. A review of the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy was published in May this year and has identified what has been achieved so far and sets out further work required to further implement the Strategy. This work will feed into the estimates process for 2019 and subsequent years.

In parallel with the Strategy, a National Dementia Strategy Implementation Programme (NDSIP) was agreed by the Department of Health, the HSE and Atlantic Philanthropies. €27.5million was committed to the Programme over a three year period across a number of initiatives, including dementia specific intensive homecare packages, an education and training programme for GPs and Primary Care Teams, and an information and awareness campaign which seeks to challenge public misconceptions about dementia and the challenges facing people living with dementia.

In 2016 and 2017, the HSE’s National Dementia Office partnered with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland on a project to map dementia-specific community-based services and supports. The project did not look at the generic services that people with dementia or their families and carers may use or the quality of the identified services. However, it provides a useful snapshot and baseline study into what, where and when dementia services are being offered. The study has also been used to inform a service finder hosted on the National Dementia Office’s website. This allows people to search for dementia-specific community services in their area. There are gaps in access to services and a large variance in what services are provided across the country. The National Dementia Office has met with senior HSE officials in each Community Healthcare Organisation region to highlight gaps in each area and to develop local action plans to improve service provision.

In addition to these community supports, in 2014 the HSE introduced Dementia-Specific Intensive Homecare Packages (Dementia-IHCPs) to test the feasibility of providing a high level of support to people with dementia with complex needs to facilitate them to remain living at home. These were initially co-funded by the HSE and the Atlantic Philanthropies and now fully funded by the HSE, which has committed to continue to provide approximately 120 packages at any one time. At the end of July, there were 171 active Dementia-IHCPs, while 361 people with dementia had availed of an IHCP. In addition to the IHCPs, people with dementia are also able to avail of standard home care services on the basis of need and within the resources available.

The Department of Health secured €6.26 million through the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plans to develop a number of projects which are designed to expand public awareness of dementia and to improve care for people with dementia. Projects receiving funding include the delivery of post-diagnostic supports; a dementia diagnostic service for people with intellectual disability; a national network of memory technology resource rooms; the development of a national dementia registry; the national rollout of a Dementia Training Programme for HSE homecare staff; the development of Dementia Resource Centres; funding for a dementia community activation coordinator; and community support projects for people with dementia.

The National Dementia Office has developed a needs analysis framework to support local dementia service planning and development. This framework is a mechanism to help the Office direct time, energy and resources into dementia care that most appropriately meets the needs of people with dementia. It will be used to make dementia service development more responsive and consistent across the country.

The level of funding available for the Department of Health in 2019 and the quantum of services to be provided by the HSE will be considered as part of the national Estimates and budgetary process and National Service Planning.