Alzheimer’s Care / Dementia Care

In Ireland, the stated objective of public policy for people with dementia is to encourage and facilitate their continued living in their own homes for as long as is possible and practicable. About 40,000 individuals in Ireland have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and these numbers are expected to increase as our population grows older and live longer. These numbers represent huge numbers of families living in Ireland with loved ones who require special care.

In Bluebird Care, we can help. We recognise that facilitating care for dementia patients in their own homes is the best. Our staff are trained to maintain a safe environment, manage changing behaviours, create social interaction and supervise daily activities whilst maintaining a routine.
Our Care workers can provide encouragement and assistance and restore the simple pleasures such as a walk, or spending time in the garden. Our approach can help family members cope with the challenges of dementia.

Living with Chronic Health Conditions

Chronic conditions are those which are long term (lasting more than six months) and can have a signifi cant impact on a person’s life. While they can affect people of all ages, many chronic conditions can be successfully managed to minimise the severity of the symptoms and the impact on a person’s life, particularly through effective use of medication, exercise, improved nutrition and social interaction.

Common chronic conditions include:

• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Osteoarthritis
• Cardiac Failure
• Emphysema
• Obstructive Airways Disease
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Motor Neurone Disease
• Vascular Disease

With an ageing population, chronic diseases are set to increase dramatically among the Irish population. In 2006, 11 per cent of the total population was aged over 65 years. This will rise to at least 22 per cent by 2041, according to the Central Statistics Offi ce, with the number of people aged over 85 years set to quadruple over the same period.

Older people, by their nature, have more complex chronic illnesses, visit GPs more often and attend outpatient departments more frequently. Indeed, chronic diseases account for approximately 80 per cent of all healthcare costs, 60 per cent of all hospital beds, two- thirds of emergency medical admissions, 5 per cent of inpatients with long-term conditions, and 42 per cent of all acute bed-days. So the management of patients with chronic diseases is already placing signifi cant pressure on our health system, and this will only increase as the population gets older.

The HSE – and more recently and vocally, the Minister for Health – believe that the axis of healthcare can be shifted, with an emphasis on providing treatment at what the Minister calls “the lowest level of complexity”. This means moving patients traditionally cared for in hospitals back into primary care or into the community.

When the right levels of support are in place, unnecessary hospital admissions can even be avoided. And just as importantly, such a shift will dramatically improve the quality of life of patients with chronic conditions.

Bluebird Care shares this philosophy with the HSE and the Minister for Health, and can provide the right levels of support to help keep and treat people at the very lowest level of complexity – in their own home.

Other areas of Specialised Home Care

We have trained staff to deal with other advanced areas of Home Care including Post Natal Care, High Dependency Care, Respite Care, Convalescence Care, Help with Incontinence etc. If you would like to talk to someone in confidence with no obligation about any area of home care for you or your family, just call your local Bluebird Care office and one of our Care Managers will gladly meet with you.

Bluebird care provides Specialised Care services nationwide throughout Ireland, please see our contact page for an office closest to you