Press Release
Brussels,
1 October 2015
On the occasion of the 25th International Day of Older Persons, under the theme “Sustainability and age inclusiveness in the urban environment”, Eurodiaconia wants to seize this opportunity to remind the European Union and the Member States that an increasing number of older people are affected by dementia today in Europe, but that healthcare systems and social services in Europe are not ready yet to face this challenge in a context of rapidly ageing populations.
Eurodiaconia is a dynamic, Europe-wide community of social and health care organisations with direct experience in providing services to persons with dementia and advocating their fundamental needs. Our 45 national and regional members stress the key importance of adequate environments to tackle age-related issues in the European Union, one of the most severe ones being loneliness in spite of living in urban areas and consequently the lack of support for carers.
As a result of our members’ longstanding track record in providing quality, innovative and effective services for persons with dementia, Eurodiaconia recently produced a brochure highlighting some of their initiatives in the field. Drawing on members’ experiences, the brochure “Supporting persons with dementia and their families: Good practice from Eurodiaconia members” identifies the following key messages and pressing challenges aimed to raise awareness amongst decision makers and strategic partners:
- Ensuring that the voice and rights of older people and their families are heard at all stages of service provision;
- Taking action towards the integration of services both across care settings and throughout the care pathway, as this would enable significant life quality gains for older people;
- Calling for help from as many sources as possible to bring in all relevant expertise and to take full advantage of synergies that could be established between different actors such as health professionals, volunteers, IT companies, Alzheimer’s associations and families’ associations, among others.
For more information, please contact:
Nicolas Derobert, 0032 (0)483 62 18 88 or nicolas.derobert@eurodiaconia.org
More resources on healthy ageing and long-term here.
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