National Dementia Strategy & The Model of Care for Dementia in Ireland

National Dementia Strategy

The National Dementia Strategy (NDS) sets out a framework for the development of dementia supports and services in Ireland.

• Published in 2014.
• Mid Term review published in 2018. Read report here.
• 35 actions to improve dementia care in Ireland
• Grouped under 6 action areas: Better Awareness and Understanding; Timely Diagnosis and Intervention; Integrated services, Supports and care for people with dementia and their carers; Training and Education; Research and Information Systems; and Leadership.
• €12.5 million investment by Atlantic Philanthropies in 2014, matched by €15million from the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive.
• The HSE’s National Dementia Office, now National Dementia Services, provides leadership for the delivery of the NDS.

Implementation

The Strategy Implementation and Monitoring Group was chaired by the Department of Health. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland was represented on the group by former ASI CEO Pat McLoughlin, member of our Irish Dementia Working Group (IDWG) Helen Rochford-Brennan and member of the Dementia Carers Campaign Network (DCCN) Sean Donal O’Shea. This monitoring group met three times each year.

A mid-term review, which was prepared by the National Dementia Office (NDO), now National Dementia Services, and the Department of Health, was published in May 2018.

The report acknowledges that significant challenges remain in ensuring that people with dementia and their carers get the support they need to live as well as possible. The report also acknowledges that a significant increase in the amount of funding is now required to provide the supports and services. The ASI strongly supports this view.

Read our press release on the launch here.

The Model of Care for Dementia in Ireland 

The landmark Model of Care for Dementia in Ireland sets out 37 targets and a series of practice recommendations to advance the assessment, treatment, care and support of people with dementia and their families in Ireland. The model is underpinned by five core principles:

• citizenship
• person-centred approaches
• integration
• personal outcomes
• timeliness

Building on the National Dementia Strategy, The Model of Care for Dementia in Ireland brings together best practice in relation to dementia diagnosis, communicating a diagnosis of dementia and post-diagnostic support. The model is developed within the context of Sláintecare 2020–2023 and the health reform agenda, in which delivering the right care, in the right place, at the right time, given by the right team, is a central principle.

In May 2023, the Model of Care for Dementia in Ireland was formally launched at the Department of Health. The event was attended by ASI staff, advocates and supporters. The Model of Care provides an integrated framework to bring together a wide range of services for people living with Dementia and is underpinned by the following:

• People living with dementia are at the centre of considerations relating to service design and recommendations related to care practices.
• They receive timely and equitable access to assessment, diagnosis and post-diagnostic support regardless of the location of a service, the type of dementia they have, their age, their ethnicity, any other disability or co-morbidity, or their gender.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland welcomed the plan as it ensures people living with dementia are involved in the process of their service design.

Link to read the report here.

Link to Plain Language report here.

Mapping the Service Gaps

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland with the National Dementia office, now National Dementia Services, mapped the dementia specific services available across Ireland and found a number of gaps in the availability and provision of appropriate dementia-specific community services and supports.

You can read the full report here.

To discover the gaps county by county, click on this link and go to ‘Dementia in Your Area’

Press release mapping project’ Read our press release here.

This mapping report highlighted a lack of supports and interventions for people earlier in the dementia journey, particularly in relation to post-diagnostic supports such as Dementia Advisers, dementia counselling, dementia cognitive therapies, dementia information and signposting services/resources and support groups for people with dementia.

Building the Case for Dementia Advisers

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland began rolling out the position of Dementia Advisers in 2015 in response to a need identified in the National Dementia Strategy (NDS). As of early 2024, there are 29 Dementia Advisers working across Ireland who are consistently in demand. In 2023, the service worked with 4607 new clients, an increase of 12% on 2022. In 2024, demand for the first four months of the year the service is already 6% ahead of 2023. The ASI has repeatedly called for funding to increase this number, most recently as part of our 2025 Pre-Budget Submission.

‘Evaluation of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Dementia Adviser Service Report’, was commissioned by the HSE’s National Dementia Office, now National Dementia Services, as part of the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy and finally published in October 2018.

Read the Report here.

Read our Press Release here.

In the report, people with dementia, carers, families, health and social care professionals and Dementia Advisers (DA) themselves recommended an increase in the number of DAs to meet the increasing demand, as a result of the increasing prevalence of dementia. The report recommends development of the service to achieve national coverage.

To find out more about the Dementia Adviser Service visit Dementia Adviser in our website.

Understand Together campaign

The Understand Together campaign, funded under the National Dementia Strategy, was launched in October 2016 and run by the HSE in partnership with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland and formerly Genio.

To find out how to become a community champion in your area to support people with dementia and their families to live well, click here.

For information on the campaign, to watch the TV ads and more go to understandtogether.ie

Work in development

The National Dementia Services has created several steering groups and working groups to work on the development of dementia services and supports. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland representatives, including advocates from both the Irish Dementia Working Group and the Dementia Carers Campaign Network, participate in several working groups and steering groups including on diagnosis, post-diagnosis, younger onset dementia, psychotropic drugs, registry project, memory resource rooms.

To read the quarterly newsletters of the HSE National Dementia Services click here.