Aged care residents struggling to access mental health care
Aged care residents with mental illness are finding it hard to access mental health services, with a new study finding that less than three per cent of residents with mental health conditions obtained treatment in 2016/17.
Though aged care residents are four times more likely to have depression and nine times more likely to have an anxiety disorder than the general older Australian population, only 2.4% accessed primary care services and 2.3% accessed psychiatry in 2016/17, according to the Flinders University study.
“Difficulties for accessing mental health services was particularly pronounced for people with dementia, who were less likely than people without dementia to access any of the services, aside from psychiatry services.
“The under-identification and lack of non-pharmacological treatment of mental illness among people with dementia is a long-documented problem, partly explained by a widespread misbelief that people with dementia cannot benefit from non-pharmacological therapies,” said lead author Monica Cations (pictured centre).
The study has called on the Government to improve mental health access for aged care residents.
