Alzheimer's Disease International official lauds Qatar's quality dementia care

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fazeena Saleem | The Peninsula 

Alzheimer's disease International (ADI) has lauded the initiatives and efforts Qatar has taken to improve the quality of dementia care in the country. 

DY Suharya, Regional Director of Asia Pacific at ADI, who is in Doha said that Qatar is playing a very inspirational role and it is a country that has an outstanding National Dementia Plan in the Middle East.

 'The efforts taken by Qatar and its health sector for dementia care are commendable. Only 30 countries in the world have national dementia plans and Qatar is the first in the Middle East. That's a pioneering initiative, she said speaking on the sidelines of Launch of ‘National Dementia Training Dementia Care Skills Training workshop being held for dementia care providers.

 Qatar National Dementia Plan was launched on November 2018 by the Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari and the plan sets out seven action areas addressing the core of dementia care which will have an impact on improving the quality of care.

 According to Suharya, her journey with Qatar National Dementia Plan team started at a meeting with Dr Hanadi Al Hamad, who is the National Lead for the ‘Healthy Ageing' within the National Health Strategy 2018-2022 and focal point of Global Dementia Observatory, during the World Innovation Summit for Health in 2016.

 'Qatar through the collaboration with international community-based working groups — the scientific people, the healthcare workers — is making efforts to support people with dementia working towards a dementia-friendly and age-friendly country. It is only through collaboration that we can do this, she said.

 In addition, ADI will publish World Alzheimer's Report related to stigma in dementia. This will be published in September to coincide with the World Alzheimer's Month and more than 1000 people from Qatar have taken part in the survey.

 'About 70,000 people participated in this biggest global survey on dementia. It will be published next month. The survey took about 6 months. It's the biggest survey ever and Qatar has played a significant role in it, said Suharya.

 'The survey is the answer to information related to attitudes and how people see dementia and how they perceive it from different groups including people with dementia, care workers, family caregivers , researchers, among others, she added. The theme of this year's World Alzheimer's Month is, ‘Let's talk about dementia: Break the stigma'.

 Qatar will be taking that main theme across the nation in a series of events across the healthcare sector and community, according to Dr Mani Chandran, Senior Consultant Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Geriatric Medicine, at HMC. 

'We have launched HMC wide Dementia Friendly Campaign as part of this invited all the HMC facilities taking care of our elderly to come up with an idea in their respective care facility which they consider will help change their practice in dementia care to make it more dementia-friendly services, he said.  

In Qatar, more than 4,400 people over 60 years of age may have dementia. This figure is expected to rise tenfold to more than 41,000 people by 2050 if no cure or improved prevention takes in place, according to the United Nations. 

MENAFN0109201900630000ID1098950093