– Hey Mama! Such a nice blouse you get to wear. Camilla Frugård Lunde is visiting her mother at Knutsaåsen care center in Stord. The mother no longer answers. For eleven years, Alzheimer’s has gradually taken away memory, movements and language. – It has been very hard to lose my mother little by little. She moved into the care center in 2020. Then the family looked after her for nine years. Her husband Reidar took care of most of it, and the three daughters have helped out when needed. Marit was looked after for nine years at home before she was given a place at the care centre. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news More than half of people over 90 develop dementia A new report from Statistics Norway on women’s lives and health points to dementia as one of the biggest challenges in the coming years. The number of people with dementia is expected to increase from around 100,000 to up to 250,000 in the next 30 years. – We expect increased social inequality. I think that people will have to rely even more on family, and perhaps buy more services themselves. Otherwise, it doesn’t work, says Astri Syse, who is one of the authors behind the report. Women are overrepresented among those with dementia. Of the women who live to be 90, more than half develop dementia. Today, 32,000 women are over 90. The number is expected to increase to almost 86,000 by 2050. This puts pressure on both health services and relatives. And according to the report, it is women who are responsible for the largest part of the informal care. – Women between the ages of 40 and 70 will probably have some care tasks that could negatively affect their own health, Syse believes. Camilla Frugård holds the hand of her mother Marit Frugård. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Enter patients because relatives are tired Camilla Frugård Lunde works herself as a nurse in the emergency department at Stord hospital. She often sees relatives who are having a hard time. – It is not so rare that people are admitted because relatives are tired. Nurse Renate Pedersen at Knutsaåsen care center also meets family members of patients with dementia. – Relatives are very often very tired when they get a place here. They have fought a long battle, and have no more to give, says Pedersen. Nurse at Knutsaåsen care center, Renate Pedersen. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news In Stord municipality, there are now 14 people who live at home while they wait for a place in a hospital. Nationwide, at least 740 are on the waiting list, shows an overview from the Directorate of Health. – This is a big challenge. Many receive help from home-based services, but there are also a number of relatives who make a great effort for their loved ones who live at home, says Britt Dalsgård, who heads the allocation office in Stord municipality. The municipality is now planning the development of 64 more places up to 2031. Astri Syse in Statistics Norway says the challenge with dementia in the next decades is great. Researcher Astri Syse believes that the challenge going forward is great. – One gets the impression today that there is a crisis, both in specialist health services and in municipal services. And such a favorable situation as we have today, with so few elderly people and relatively many young and healthy ones, I will never get again, says Syse. Camilla Frugård Lunde is happy about the good care her mother receives at Knutsaåsen. But she knows others who struggle to get help. – Some people have to be supervised all the time. It will be incredibly demanding for relatives. You can’t expect them to have that burden week after week, month after month, she believes. The government: Up to the municipalities Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) is state secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, and says that these challenges mean that more professionals and hospital places alone are not enough. – We have to rethink future building forms. The government is therefore embarking on a new reform to make it safe for the elderly to live longer at home, says Bekeng. Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) is state secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, and believes that people with dementia should live at home for as long as possible. Photo: Esten Borgos / BORGOS FOTO AS – What plans does the government have to increase the capacity of nursing home places? – I have confidence that the municipalities make good judgments about what is the best offer for their residents. We must develop housing solutions that enable the elderly to experience safety in their own homes, social contact and can take part in the local environment.
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Women take most of the burden when the elderly stay at home longer – news Vestland
