Western Alzheimer’s open new shop in Castlebar

WESTERN Alzheimer’s has opened a new charity shop at Market Square, Castlebar, which is being run by a team of 12 volunteers, writes Tom Gillespie.

Western Alzheimer’s CEO, Pat Holmes, said they were seeking good quality, clean clothing, handbags, CDs, DVDs, vinyl, homeware, ornaments, unwanted gifts, picture frames, pictures and jewellery.

He said: 'When people donate to our shop all of the funds from the sales go directly to the provision of services to those with dementia and their families.

'People have a lot of stuff at home they want to shift out and put to good use. We would be delighted to receive it.

'We have 12 volunteers operating at the moment but we need more. They do a four-hour shift in the morning or afternoon.

'I believe this shop will be a success and we will look at opening other shops to raise more funding for the organisation as the more funding we have the more services we can provide.'

Those interested in volunteering should contact Fiona Thornton at the shop on (094) 9364900 for further information. The shop is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Currently 55,000 people live with dementia in Ireland, 5,500 of whom live in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, and these figures are forecast to double in the next 20 years.

Pat stated: 'Dementia/Alzheimer’s diagnosis results in utter devastation not only for the patient but also for the family, and results in massive pressure on home and financial resources.

'Western Alzheimer’s was founded in the 1990s to help share this burden and assist primary carers in the provision of care. This is achieved through the provision of in-home support, day care, respite care and long-term residential care.

'Many of these services are provided free or at a significantly reduced fee to make them assessible to everyone, irrelevant of their circumstances.

'Finance to provide for these services is generated through fundraising activities, complemented by both State and philanthropic contributions.

'Western Alzheimer’s is the only provider of the full rage of services to Alzheimer sufferers in counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.'

Pat gave me a breakdown of the services they provide.

Respite services (residential): A person living with Alzheimer’s is accommodated for a week or two at a time to give the primary carer a much needed break. Approximately 110,000 hours of care are provided annually. Currently there is a significant waiting list for this service.

Reconfiguration works, he said, are planned to bring Marian House respite facility at Ballindine up to HIQA standards at a cost of €700,000. Funding of €300,000 has been secured, leaving a shortfall of €400,000. It is hoped to double the capacity of this service when funding can be secured.

Long stay specialised care: This is the provision of specialised residential care to maximum dependent dementia sufferers. Currently 175,000 hours of care are provided annually.

Support and advisory service: This is the provision of advisory and emotional support to families impacted by dementia.

In-home support: This is the provision of care support in the home to assist the primary carer in the provision of care or to give them a break. Currently 55,000 hours of care are being provided annually.

Day care service: This allows persons living with dementia to attend day care and undertake meaningful activities under the care of a nurse-led specialised care team.

Moygownagh-born Pat added: 'In total, 360,000 hours of care are provided annually to support families impacted by dementia and allow the person living with dementia in many cases to lead a meaningful life in the community. Unfortunately, these hours are insufficient to meet the ever-increasing demand.

'We are currently exploring options to raise the €400,000 required for the Marian House reconfiguration works.'

The Marian House Respite Home, Ballindine, can be contacted on (094) 9364101.