A major report on healthcare in Australia has highlighted the importance of dementia care in the health and aged care systems.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) ‘Australia’s Health’ report, close to 650,000 GP consultations in 2008-09 were devoted to managing the condition.
Dementia was also the primary cause of around 116,000 hospitalisations in Australia that year.
The report noted that the majority of people with dementia lived in households, with just 43 per cent in residential care.
However it is estimated that 97 per cent of people with dementia who live in the community require assistance with at least one type of personal activity.
The most common form of assistance for people with dementia who live in the community is health care and mobility support, followed by cognition and self care.
According to the report, well over half of the residents in aged care facilities (59 per cent) whose dementia status was known, had been diagnosed with the condition.
The proportion of residents with dementia was highest among those residents aged 85 and over.
But even among the youngest aged care residents, almost half (47 per cent) have been diagnosed with dementia.
The report also confirmed that aged care residents with dementia have significantly higher care needs than those residents without dementia.
