2023-07-18 19:37:34
Posted Jul 18, 2023, 7:37 PM
1.2 million people are directly affected by Alzheimer’s disease or a related disease today in France. However, their care is insufficient in accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad), according to a report by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) published on Tuesday, July 18.
The report recommends a global transformation of all establishments to prepare and adapt them to the significant arrival of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
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Cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease are increasingly present in the elderly. The report indicates that the majority of nursing home residents have Alzheimer’s disease or a related disease. And this proportion is expected to grow in the years to come.
For Igas, this is a major public health issue: more than one in three people aged 90 and over are affected, and nearly double is expected in 2050. The same pattern elsewhere in the world, where one case is detected every three seconds. According to the WHO, it is the leading cause of dependency and disability among the elderly.
A large part of the territory not covered
Since the 2008-2012 Alzheimer plan, specialized devices have been developed in nursing homes, concedes the report. The adapted activity and care centers (PASA), the cognitive-behavioural units (UCC), or even the specialized Alzheimer’s teams (ESA) with people residing in their homes, have “correctly responded, on the whole, to the needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders”.
But they have their “limits and increasingly visible disadvantages on the ground”, regrets the Igas. Only 50,000 people can benefit from ESA services each year, ie less than 5% of the total number of people with Alzheimer’s disease or related.
It should not be forgotten that a large part of the territory is not covered, hence the large waiting lists. Then, the services offered by the ESAs do not make it possible to respond to patients whose situation is too degraded, underlines the report.
Absence of devices in nearly half of nursing homes
Only a quarter of nursing homes have a PASA, giving access to this device to only 10% of people residing in nursing homes. For UHRs, less than 3% of nursing homes have them, bringing the figure to only around 1% of residents who can benefit from them.
The number of places in Alzheimer’s living units would represent less than 10% of the total number of places in establishments: nearly one nursing home in three would only have an isolated Alzheimer’s living unit. In total, almost half of nursing homes would ultimately have no device in their establishment.
Double the beneficiaries of ESAs
Igas has established in its report an anti-Alzheimer’s plan articulated around four axes: preventing exposure to risks and improving the identification of the disease, supporting people and their caregivers, transforming nursing homes and optimizing crisis systems. .
Among its recommendations, Igas recommends conducting health education campaigns targeting the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, many of which are now well identified, and placing particular emphasis on the hearing and depression.
Igas also recommends doubling, as part of the new roadmap for neurodegenerative diseases, or in any event for the years 2023-2025, the number of beneficiaries of ESAs.
The mission also suggests in particular strengthening the effective presence on site of gerontological care assistants (ASG) at night in nursing homes.
With AFP
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