A lack of proper care options for dementia patients in Southland has led to cases of serious harm.
This is according to Aged Care Commissioner Carolyn Cooper, who has written to Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to share her concerns.
But sector leaders say the problem is nationwide, with not enough beds, staff or resources to help Kiwis with dementia and their families.
Te Whatu Ora says it is developing a work plan with clinicians to improve community support.
People with dementia were among the most vulnerable consumer groups in the health and disability system, Cooper said.
“I hold significant concerns about patient harm being caused to a vulnerable population of consumers from the lack of access to appropriate care options.”
She was equally concerned about the closure of 50 psychogeriatric beds across the country, which was putting pressure on patients and their families.
Cooper said she was assessing Te Whatu Ora’s response to her concerns before deciding her next steps.
“I acknowledge that Te Whatu Ora are currently undertaking an aged-care funding and service model review, and I will continue to engage with them in this respect, monitor actions taken and seek improvements to the care options available,” she said.
Research commissioned by the Aged Care Association this year found that residential aged-care providers were losing up to $15 per resident per day.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation has reported that some Southland caregivers are working on a ratio of two staff members to 27 residents or four to 26 hospital-level care seniors.
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Presbyterian Support Southland (PSS) chief executive Matt Russell said the two main challenges for dementia services were funding shortfalls and staffing constraints.
“The acuity and prevalence of dementia is also increasing with average life expectancy climbing,” he said.
PSS runs one of only nine facilities in the country, and the only one in Southland, that offers psychogeriatric care – the most intensive level of dementia care – with 20 beds.
While he was proud of the quality of service provided, Russell said staffing and funding shortfalls had forced PSS to defer maintenance and limit bed numbers, which meant patients were sent to other regions.
Alzheimer’s New Zealand chief executive Catherine Hall said the organisation was hearing concerns about a lack of services in Southland, as well a in South Canterbury, Otago and the North Island.
Supplied
Presbyterian Support Southland chief executive Matt Russell says an ageing population means problems accessing dementia support could intensify in the coming years. (File photo)
Most people with dementia were able to live at home and would only need residential care at the end of their dementia journey if they had proper support, she said.
“It’s not just that there aren’t enough beds.”
There weren’t enough community care workers, she said, explaining that when patients struggled to access primary care, they deteriorated faster than if they were able to manage their other health conditions.
She was frustrated that nothing had been done to prepare for the need.
Hall called on the Government to fund the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan that was developed by multiple action groups and endorsed by the previous Cabinet in 2021.
She called it a blueprint for improving services across the spectrum of care.
Hall also encouraged Kiwis to do whatever they could to delay or minimise the risk of dementia by eating well, exercising and getting their hearing checked. (Loss of hearing is a massive risk factor for dementia.)
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Te Whatu Ora’s regional manager for Te Waipounamu Ageing Well, Mardi Fitzgibbon, said the issues being experienced in Southland were not unique to the region.
“There is a consistently high occupancy rate for psychogeriatric beds across the country, especially in rural areas.”
A draft Te Waipounamu Regional Health and Wellbeing Plan prioritised dementia with actions to increase supports in the community, she said.
A workshop to identify possible improvements was held in September and a work plan would be presented at a follow-up workshop.
Local needs assessment and service co-ordinators were prioritising patients on the psychogeriatric waiting list and supporting patients already living in residential care so they could remain in place until a bed was available, Fitzgibbon said.
Residents are always offered space in the wider region or elsewhere in the country when it was available, she said.
