Aged Care Association chief executive Tracey Martin. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The Aged Care Association is calling on the government to temporarily help fund Alzheimers Otago, which says its services are on the brink of collapse.
Association chief executive and former MP Tracey Martin said the government would be "foolish" to lose any dementia support services, even for a short period of time.
"Ultimately, that will fall back onto our hospital system, that will fall back onto other services like police and search and rescue... because at the moment those branches of Alzheimers New Zealand are keeping people as safe as they can and as well supported as they can, really on the smell of an oily rag," Martin said.
Failing to properly fund Alzheimers care could be costly, she said.
"I will guarantee you, it is not very much money that Alzheimers Otago requires to keep delivering the supports that they're currently delivering."
Martin called on the government to continue funding groups like Alzheimers Otago, at least temporarily, while a ministerial advisory group looked at how to redesign the aged-care funding model.
"We need to start at the beginning, which is actually 'how can we better support those individuals to stay at home for as long as possible?'.
"That's about Alzheimers New Zealand and their branches all across New Zealand being resourced to be able to care for the care partners, who are looking after the individual with dementia."
The current lack of support was distressing those care partners who could not provide sufficient care to their loved one on their own, she said.
"Downstream, as the disease itself progresses, there is a percentage of those New Zealanders who will become violent or who will become unsafe for themselves."
Major reform was needed to address the growing demand for dementia care, Martin said.
With New Zealand's population rapidly ageing, the number of people entering residential care was only going to increase, as was the number of people with early-onset dementia, she said.
"People have always assumed that dementia is just going to affect you when you get old. We're seeing more and more happening under the age of 65, so more and more of these services will be needed in community for younger and younger people.
"The system's just not set up for younger individuals - people in their 50s, who get dementia."
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said she wanted to see dementia prevention services expanded, rather than diminished, and would be "asking Health NZ what's happening with the Otago funding".
"The government has extensive work underway to ensure older New Zealanders are able to live and age well, and receive the right support and care to help them do this.
"I've been saying that we need a real system that recognises people can need different types of care at different times and that provides for better transitions between these levels of care.
"It also needs to be based on early preventative care in communities."
Costello said dementia was an example of a condition where prevention worked and where community providers, such as Alzheimers NZ, provided "incredibly valuable support".
Health NZ referred questions to the government.
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