Observations from a New Zealand Memory Team

Abstract

Dedicated dementia services in New Zealand are few and far between, and are often limited in their service offerings. As such, it has often fallen to generalist health services of GPs to provide care. Reviews of such services have shown that care is largely offered late in the disease process, fails to address cultural needs, coordination between services is poor, and limited education or support is available to family/carers (Ramages & Fisher, 2011). In July 2013, the Memory Team was set up with the aim of improving dementia services offered in the Counties Manukau area. This article reviews the referrals received by the Memory Team from July 2013 to February 2015, the assessment and follow-up process for clients/families, and compares the findings with those of other memory clinics/services. It also looks at the demographics of the New Zealand dementia population.