Health launches an information programme for carers of dementia patients
Around 2,300 new cases of dementia are diagnosed each year among the over-65s.
Within the framework of the Neurodegenerative Diseases Strategy, the Regional Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs has set up an information programme for carers of patients with dementia, a disease of which around 2,300 new cases are diagnosed annually in the Balearic Islands among people over the age of 65, according to estimated incidence data.

TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Dementia represents the paradigm of illnesses that affect not only the person diagnosed but also those who care for them, as they also suffer the consequences in the personal, social and occupational spheres. For this reason, care for the caregiver must be comprehensive, integrated and coordinated, and any care that is considered must take into account the person with dementia-caregiver binomial.

For this reason, as part of the development of the Neurodegenerative Diseases Strategy promoted by the Directorate General for Benefits and Pharmacy, informative workshops for carers of people with dementia have been started, providing them with the tools and practical knowledge necessary to manage the situation appropriately. The initiative is financed by the funds for the 2021 strategies of the Ministry of Health, which were approved at the CISNS on 28 July, to support the implementation of the strategy for neurodegenerative diseases.

The main objective is to offer, from the moment of diagnosis, information on various aspects such as the characteristics of the disease, its evolution and treatments; how the health system is organised to provide appropriate care (check-ups, follow-up, continuous care), what training is available for carers, how and where social benefits, resources and aid can be managed, and the patient associations that work with this disease.

The sessions are given by professionals involved in the care of people with dementia from the health and social fields, both from hospitals and primary care. In the hospital centres, 3 essential professionals have been identified: neurologists, neurology nurses and social workers. To these are added the community nurse case manager from the sectors involved, whose role is to ensure continuity, transition and contact with the primary care team.

The training sessions are held in small groups of between 10 and 15 people and last four hours, divided into two sessions of two hours each.

The Directorate General for Benefits and Pharmacy plans to organise a meeting with patient associations to inform them about the new project and to invite them to participate in the sessions.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)