With 70 per cent of its ageing residents at risk from developing dementia in the next ten years, Les Amis says it is urgently searching for a site for the Island’s first elderly and complex-needs nursing care unit for people with learning difficulties, including Down’s syndrome.
The charity’s managing director, Shaun Findlay, said: ‘The problem exists now, as we had to say goodbye to a resident just before Christmas after supporting them for 42 years and we have three further cases going through dementia screening and assessments.
‘This will only get worse in time, so it is incumbent upon us to get the unit developed asap as this issue will only increase in time due to the increasing age of our service users.’
In July last year the Planning Committee rejected an application for a 25-bed home in Samarès Lane after 13 residents objected. It would have been built by the Jersey Homes Trust on an old farm complex, L’Industrie, and run by Les Amis. The owners of the site submitted a planning application last week for a residential development.
Les Amis currently has 141 residents who rely on its services, including respite care. Of these, 88 either require full-time care at its base at Five Oaks or in houses or flats in the community, with some leading largely independent lives.
Mr Findlay says 70 per cent of those 88 residents, who will be over the age of 50 by 2028, are considered to be at higher risk of dementia than the general population. He adds that because of their conditions they require more specialist care than an ordinary care home can provide.
Mr Findlay said: ‘The onset of dementia tends to come earlier and quicker for people living with learning difficulties, as they already have a cognitive deficit through their disability, and they are five times more likely to develop dementia and related conditions than the rest of the population. This means we cannot care for them on our current site.
‘They also come from an environment where the staff are with them all the time, and we have a higher ratio of staff
to residents than a standard care home.
‘So we are looking for an alternative site for a specialist care home and we are in discussions over a couple of possible sites.’
