Listowel designated as a dementia-inclusive town

RTÉ News​

a day ago

Listowel in Co Kerry has been designated as a dementia-inclusive town as part of a campaign to increase awareness and improve supports for people who are living with the condition.
The initiative is part of a national campaign - called Dementia: Understand Together - which is being promoted by the HSE.
The HSE estimates that the number of people with dementia will more than double to 150,000 by 2045.
Listowel is one of several towns throughout the country which have been designated as dementia inclusive or are currently working towards that designation.
Work on a dementia-inclusive strategy for Listowel has been ongoing since a dedicated dementia day care unit, Ard Chúram Fuchsia Centre, opened in the town in August, 2021.
The centre currently caters for around 40 people who are drawn from the north Kerry area.
"We were running a day care centre for older people and then there was a need for a day care centre for people with dementia, so we raised funds and built this dedicated centre," says Ard Chúram Chairman Finbarr Mawe.
The two centres, Ard Chúram Day Care Centre and Ard Chúram Fuchsia Centre, are now operating alongside each other.
The opening of the Fuchsia Centre four years ago marked the beginning of the dementia-inclusive project in the community, rather than the ending of the building project.
"It was a big ambition for us to provide dementia-specific care at this facility," Mr Mawe explains.
"We thought to ourselves, 'is there more we can be doing'? That is when we reached out to the Listowel Business and Community Alliance, and Dementia Inclusive Listowel was created."
At the Fuchsia Centre, people with dementia enjoy gardening, arts and crafts, music and dance for five hours per day. This also affords family members and carers an opportunity for respite.
Dementia Inclusive Listowel extends the work being done at the Fuchsia Centre into the community.
It is building an understanding of dementia and how to support people with the condition and their families in the wider community.
Support from community
The first formal meeting of Dementia Inclusive Listowel took place in late 2022. Around 30 people turned up - enough to form a working group.
Since then, with the help of the HSE, several workshops and information meetings have taken place. Staff at many local businesses took part in awareness and training courses.
The work gathered momentum and two public information evenings attracted more than 250 people.
"We've had great support from the people and businesses in Listowel and we know first-hand just what that means to the people living with dementia in our community and also their families," Mr Mawe says. "People with dementia are valued members of the Listowel community and we're delighted the campaign will celebrate all of the hard work of the committee and the town."
Continuation of that work is now very much the theme.
"We are on our initial journey," Mr Mawe says.
"We are constantly making progress. We have done our workshops and seminars and now we will progress to the next step - maybe a cafe or something - because this isn't finished.
"I feel very gratified, very fulfilled that people with dementia are acknowledged as being part of the community.
"We are on a road and it isn't a finished job by any manner of means."
What is happening in Listowel isn't unique: the HSE is working with communities throughout the country to develop a greater understanding of dementia and to support those who are living with the condition, along with their families.
Dementia-inclusive community groups are working with the HSE in towns like Tralee, Bantry, Clonakilty, Mallow, Midleton, Kanturk, Charleville, Wexford, Cashel, Thurles, Roscrea, Nenagh and Cahir.
There are active groups in smaller communities, like Mohill in Co Leitrim, and in bigger communities in areas of Dublin.
The reality is dementia is becoming a more relevant issue for everyone in the country, as the population grows and ages.
Around 64,000 people living with dementia, says HSE
The HSE estimates that around 64,000 people are currently living with a diagnosis of dementia in Ireland, and that that figure will grow to around 150,000 people over the next two decades.
In May, the Minister for Older People, Kieran O'Donnell, announced the commencement of work on a national dementia registry for Ireland.
The establishment of the registry is an acknowledgement that Ireland currently lacks a systematic approach to the collection and analysis of data on dementia.
"It makes somebody with dementia feel a little bit more wanted."
As the number of people diagnosed with dementia increases, the need for a national dementia registry becomes more acute.
The HSE says the registry will allow it to plan the shape and scale of dementia services and supports into the future.
"Dementia is not just a health issue, it's a social issue and it really does require a holistic community response," says HSE South West Community Healthcare Team Lead, Dolores McElligott.
"Most people with a diagnosis of dementia are living in their communities.
"It's vital that they can continue to avail of local services and be able to remain active and engaged in community life."
Ms McElligott is based in Co Kerry and is providing HSE community development support in Listowel.
"An important element of the work of Dementia Inclusive Listowel is that we're all in agreement that this is an on-going project and that we keep the conversation, the education and the understanding going - it's the only way to make sustainable change happen," she says.
Karen Carmody, a solicitor in Listowel, can see the benefits of Dementia Inclusive Listowel on a practical level.
Her father, DJ, is a retired dairy farmer from Moyvane, 10 kilometres north of Listowel.
He is 84 and has been living with dementia for about five years.
Karen describes Dementia Inclusive Listowel as "hugely positive and really, really helpful".
"It makes somebody with dementia feel a little bit more wanted," she says.