Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

In Northern Ireland, 16,000 people have a diagnosis of dementia. (Dementia UK Report. 2007).

The Eastern Health and Social Services Board (EHSSB) is Northern Ireland’s largest Board - including Ards, Belfast, Castlereagh, Down, Lisburn andNorth Down District councils, and has responsibility for the care of approximately 665,000 people who live within its area.

The population in the EHSSB is ageing. Almost 20% of the population is over 60. This pattern is similar to what is happening elsewhere in the Western world. The ageing population is a direct result of improved social, economic and living conditions as well as improvements in health and social care. The population in the EHSSB is expected to grow rapidly by the year 2010, particularly in the age groups 80 - and over.

The graph above illustrates the age structure of the population over 60 in the EHSSB area and the six District Councils. In total, the proportion of the population in the EHSSB area is 19 %, in Ards 18.7 %, in Belfast 19.7 %, in Castlereagh 21.2 %, in Down 17.0 %, in Lisburn 16.0 % and in North Down 21.0 %.

The older population in Northern Ireland, as well as the EHSSB area, is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years. The graph below illustrates the year 2010, which is the year preceding the next Census, and show that the population over 60 in the EHSSB area will grow somewhat, particularly in the age groups 80 and over.

Currently, the Eastern Health and Social Services Board spends 24% of its budget on older people’s services, however, if the usage of acute services were to be taken into account this percentage would more than double.

Some unsettling stats

According to the above table from Alziemers Australia, you’d be almost three time as likely as your grandparents to be affected by dementia.

The full article can be found here

I sometimes forget : does that mean I have dementia?

Dementia is more than forgetting. Think about the times you forgot:

• a person’s name
• a telephone number
• to buy an item at the supermarket
• the words of a favourite song

Why you forgot those things is often because you are distracted by other people, are
thinking about what you will do after work or have been in a hurry. You chances of having dementia do increase as you get older but sometimes you forget because of the 101 other things that you need to remember!

Dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease impairs memory but does not rob the person of all the memories of a lifetime. Many people with dementia can recall details of their childhood and early adulthood but frequently have difficulty with recalling events of the past day. Reminiscence can help in recalling past events and be beneficial for well-being
and provide a context for social interaction.

Memory helps us make sense of our life experience and to cope. A memory of past experience can help us cope with the present. Finding our way from A- B and
getting lost means that we will remember the next time when we have to do that journey. For many people with dementia remembering a previous role or experience
of an environment can become a means of making sense of what is a happening
now.

The lady in the care home who makes ense of her environment based on a memory of Atlantic cruises with her husband, does not go to her bedroom - she goes to her cabin!

The senses of smell, taste, touch and sound, also evoke memory. The smell of
lavender polish can remind us of helping our mother, the taste of a caramel sweet may remind us of a favourite uncle or the sound of a bell may remind us of going to school.

Memory is also related to what we see. Visual images such as flowers, familiar
objects and personal items can trigger a response and aid communication. The feelings we have about things also trigger memories. Feeling happy or sad can lead to remembering previous times when they felt similar emotion. Importantly the memory related to emotions can influence a persons’ well-being and affect all communication with others.

There is a difference between memory loss as a normal part of ageing and as a
symptom of dementia., but there are things you can do to preserve memory.

This article came from an Introduction to Dementia, written by The Dementia Services Development Centre, Northern Ireland.

Two hundred per cent increase in dementia in next ten years

Social Development Minister, Margaret Ritchie speaking at the first ever conference in Northern Ireland (31st Jan 200 dedicated to addressing the housing needs of people with dementia, highlighted that the expected 200% increase in dementia needs to be addressed.

At present, Dementia is estimated to affect 16,000 people in Northern Ireland, but it is estimated that this will rise to 20,500 by 2017 and 47,000 by 2051.

You can read the article here
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/news_items/two-hundred-per-cent-increase.htm

Lack Of Innovation

Some Stats for you.

Around 10 companies account for half of all Northern Irish exports.

Almost 90 per cent of local firms employ fewer than 10 people.

The public sector employs one in three of all workers in Northern Ireland.

While manufacturing exports rose by 45 per cent in real terms in the five years from 1996/97, more recently, exports have levelled off.

Invest NI has so far leveraged £23 million of private sector investment in R&D as well as establishing 17 Centres of Research Excellence.

It has seen the number of foreign-owned companies operating in Northern Ireland increased by over 60% between 1996 and 2002, from 304 to 637.

Invest NI put these dire stats down to lack of innovation, At present, Northern Ireland industries focus mainly on supplying a local market. These services are of a high quality but due to lack of innovation once a large multinational moves in, they flounder and many disappear as they cannot compete with the more competitive innovative foreign owned companies. This article provides an overview of what Invest NI proposes as a solution.

Social Networking for Dummies

I’ve found another one of these videos explaining briefly what social networking is all about. It appears that it involves less bondage then I previously thought.

If you have a couple of minutes to kill then look at the video below and become enlightened about the strange world that Bebo, Facebook and MySpace to name a few, wish us to join.

Blogs for dummies

Clueless about what the heck a blog is? Wondering why you should possibly set one up?

Take a look at the video below which demonstrates the fundamentals of why a blog may be useful to you.

The video also provides links to some useful sites for locating blogs. Worth taking a look at.