GOOD PRACTISES FOR ALZHEIMER IN CREECE TRAINING FOR THE ALZHEIMER CARE THROUGH EYROPE (TACT EUROPE)

G OOD PRACTICES FOR A LZHEIMER IN G REECE  In Greece, 9% of people aged over 70 years suffer from dementia, while 6% suffer from dementia Alzheimer, according to epidemiological study in Thessaloniki.  It is estimated that in just a few years the number of patients with dementia in Greece will be over than 200,000 (Tsolaki)

T HE ORGANISATION OF SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND CARERS The Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity is responsible for social support to people with dementia/dependent elderly people. It achieves this through the provision of psychological support for people with dementia and their carers, by providing financial support, including medication and a benefit for people with severe dementia and through cognitive rehabilitation programmes for people with dementia. Needs must be first assessed by a medical committee. Support may be provided in kind or by means of payments or tax exemptions (European Commission, 2006).

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS Day care In general, day care services are available for people in the early stages of dementia but not for people with severe dementia. They are partly funded by the State or NGOs. Amongst the different kinds of day care services available, there are KAPI centres, Help at Home services, Day Protection Centres for the Elderly and Centres run by Alzheimer associations, NGOs and the Church.

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS KAPI “Centres for the open protection of the elderly” (known as KAPI) aim to provide the necessary support to enable elderly people (in relatively good health) to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible. Most offer the following services: Preventive medical services Physiotherapy programmes Ergotherapy programmes Health education Recreational activities (Daniilidou et al. 2005)

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS Help at Home Many KAPI centres collaborate with the Help at Home project which offers a range of services to elderly people who are unable to manage on their own, i.e. social services (counseling and information) health care services and family assistance (with housework, personal care and eating as well as befriending) (Daniilidou et al. 2005).

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS Day care centres run by Alzheimer associations The Greek Alzheimer and Associated Disorders Association has eight day centres (three in Athens, three in Thessaloniki, one in Volos and one in Chania on the island of Crete). The services offered at these day care centres include discussion groups, seminars for caregivers and professionals, memory training for patients presenting with early-stage disease, music therapy (for patients at all stages), speech therapy, physiotherapy, cognitive rehabilitation, psychotherapy and mental exercises.

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS Respite care Care Home Units offer respite care and are partly funded by the State but are not available throughout the whole of Greece. In many areas, neighbors, friends and volunteers also offer sitting services (Mestheneos et al., 2004). Respite care during the day and at night is limited. Some NGOs and the Church also provide respite care in the home. Short-term residential respite care also exists and is partly funded by the State. Again, it is not available throughout the whole country.

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS Long-term residential care Long-term residential care for the elderly is provided in old people’s homes and nursing homes for the chronically ill and is mainly funded by the State. Places are usually given to people on a low income who have to contribute towards the cost unless they have no financial means, in which case, it is free of charge. Most of the nursing homes are in the big cities. In addition, there are homes called “houses of serenity” which are run by the Church and there are homes run by private organizations (Sissouras et al., 2002). However, according to Lamura (2003), less than 1% of people over 65 years of age lives in residential homes.

S ERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CARERS Monitoring in the home via alarm systems In Greece, there is a private 24-hour tele-alarm system linked to family, neighbors, the police or the ambulance service (Mestheneos et al., 2004). Personal assistance and home help According to the Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, there are limited services funded by the State providing personal assistance and home help for people with dementia in Greece. Transport is only provided for people attending day care centres and this is partly funded by the State. Some NGOs also run transport services.

G OOD PRACTICES FOR A LZHEIMER IN G REECE Psychosocial support and training for people with dementia and carers Some NGOs and volunteers organise counselling services for people with dementia which are partly funded by the State. People with dementia do not pay anything. Disorders Association, also provide training for carers, as well as cognitive rehabilitation and psychotherapy for people with dementia.

G OOD PRACTICES FOR A LZHEIMER IN G REECE Counseling for carers is provided in day centres funded by the State and the European Community. Carers do not have to pay anything. NGOs also provide this Service but it is not available everywhere in Greece. There are no provisions for holidays for carers and/or people with dementia but training is available for carers in some parts of the country and this is partly funded by the State. NGOs, such as the Greek Red Cross and the Greek Alzheimer and Associated also provide training for carers, as well as cognitive rehabilitation and psychotherapy for people with dementia.

PARTICIPATION OF THE COMPANY IN EYROPEAN PROGRAMMS FOR DEMENTIA

A MBIENT A SSISTED L IVING J OINT P ROGRAMME, C ALL 2 M AINTAINING AND M EASURING M ENTAL W ELLNESS Starts November 2011 The main objective of the project is to develop a mental wellness toolset for self usage (i.e. for the individuals and their families), and only to a lesser extent for the medical experts (psychiatrists, psychologists, carers, etc.) Our goal is to measure and visualize mental changes, tendencies in an entertaining way, and to give indications, sort of warnings, alarms or reports, to the effected persons and their relatives or friends that it is advisable to visit a physician. Our ambition is to compare one's mental wellness to his/her own past mental wellness conditions (in relative values), while it is definitely not our aim to compare one's mental ability to others

M ARIE C URIE I NDUSTRY -A CADEMIA P ARTNERSHIPS AND P ATHWAYS (IAPP) C ALL : FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IAPP Started October 2010 Incorporating European fundamental into ICT for ageing: a vital political, ethical and technological and industrial challenge The project’s overall objective is to promote interdisciplinary, intersectoral, original and innovative, research on the best practices for embedding EU fundamental values in ICT for ageing.

L EONARDO D A V INCI - T RANSFER OF I NNOVATION EQUIP II Started November 2010 The main purpose of this project is to improve transparency and comparability of qualification and competencies across Europe for students and home care workers with older people.

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