THE Alzheimer’s Society has called for improved quality in social care that would enable people with dementia to stay at home for longer.
The call comes as the society's research reveals how many families struggle to access quality care for loved ones with the condition.
Almost a third (31 per cent) of family carers reported home visits from care workers were too short, meaning people with dementia were left feeling "disorientated and confused" and having to choose between being fed and having a wash.
There are 22,000 people living with dementia in Northern Ireland, and they have been hit worst by coronavirus pandemic, with more than a third of all those who died with the virus also having dementia.
The society has highlighted the case of Belfast man Ken Thompson, whose wife Pat was diagnosed with dementia in 2015 and died in November 2020.
Pat was taken into hospital in June last year following a suspected stroke and was placed a care home while she was waiting to be assessed for a care package that would allow her to return to her own house. Unfortunately, she was too ill for this assessment to be carried out and she died in the home.
Prior to being admitted to hospital, Pat had been visited by carers in her home four times a day but, according to her husband, it wasn’t the right help.
“This was to dress her, take her to the toilet and undress her for bed," he said.
“The reality was they couldn’t shower her as we didn’t have a wet room and the calls did not coincide with my wife’s needs and my daughter had to call every day after work to help me."
Mr Thompson called for better dementia training for staff.
"Some of them were great but others just didn't understand Pat's needs," he said.
"I never wanted Pat to be in a home, I always wanted her at home with me and given the right support I would have been able to."
The Alzheimer’s Society’s study found a third of people affected by dementia haven’t been getting the support they need, with 82 per cent of those who felt this saying they believed their loved ones with dementia could have stayed at home longer if they’d had more support.
Bernadine McCrory of the Alzheimer’s Society said: “Families have been struggling to get the care they need over the tough spring months of the pandemic, losing potential years at home with their loved ones.
"No one should have to choose between being fed or having a wash during a care visit."
