Island needs more dementia care homes now, experts warn
A DEMENTIA crisis has left Guernsey facing a 'dire and desperate' need for more specialist care homes, experts of the condition have said.
The warning comes after a planning appeal revealed vulnerable dementia patients were blocking beds at the hospital because there was nowhere else for them to go.
'We have to keep my 81-year-old sister at home with 24/7 care because there is not enough space – that is how dire the situation is,' said Alzheimer's Association fundraiser Liz Head.
'We are definitely short of facilities and I know people who are desperate to get their relations into proper care homes but there just simply isn't enough space.'
Barbara Giles, honorary secretary for the association, added: 'We need more facilities because we are an aging population and the situation is only going to get worse.'
Maison de Quetteville, a home specifically designed for the care of those with dementia and Alzheimer's, was opened in October 2009 following a long fundraising drive, Maison Million, which was launched in the Guernsey Press.
Methodist Homes for the Aged runs the home and chairman Paul Le Boutillier said there could be no denying that more facilities were essential.
