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THE HERALD FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3 2017


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Ageing in west Wales


WEST Wales is a rural area. Home to about 13% of the total


population of Wales, it covers roughly a quarter of the landmass. As Wales starts being sliced into


four regions led by unaccountable boards, the sparkling vision of the future peddled by Growing Mid Wales and the Swansea Bay City Region cannot obscure that west Wales is rural. The largest settlement west of


Swansea is Llanelli, which urban sprawl has left scarcely west of Swansea, at all. The next largest towns are Carmarthen,


Aberystwyth,


Haverfordwest, and Milford Haven. Llanelli’s population is more than


that of the next three most populous towns combined. The population of west Wales


is spread out along the coast and the rural hinterland in small settlements, interspersed with small market towns, and even smaller pockets of relative prosperity. The range of communities in the region is demonstrated by its containing the post-industrial Amman Valley and the deeply rural Dyffryn Aeron and the isolation of the St Davids Peninsula. This is not an area where one size


can fit all and where data entered on spreadsheets in Cardiff Bay, or by Sir Terry Matthews, bears almost no relation to conditions on the ground. And the population is ageing, and


Table A


Carmarthenshire Ceredigion


Pembrokeshire


Te projected totals for those aged over 65 with dementia in the three counties are: 2015 2876 1187 2022


2020 3242 1350 2323


2025 3753 1567 2692


2030 4371 1811 3110


Jon Coles jon.coles@herald.email


ageing fast. AN AGEING POPULATION The number of older people


receiving services across the Hywel Dda Health Board area is predicted to increase over the next 15 years. If current patterns continue, the


number of older people receiving residential services by 2030 could increase by 42% for those aged 75-84 years and by 71% for those aged 85 and over. In Pembrokeshire, the increase for


those aged 85 and over could be even higher at 81%. Overall, in the over 65 population,


the percentage of people who may be unable to manage at least one domestic task, activity or self-care activity is predicted to increase by between 37% and 41%. However,


the percentage


significantly increases for those over 80 years (between 60% and 74%). Pembrokeshire again sees a higher predicted increase in the number of people aged 85 and over who may be unable to manage at least one domestic task, activity or self-care activity compared with Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. In terms of service provision,


the number of people receiving community services across the region


FUW President Glyn Roberts: ‘ Those working on the farm, who are caring for a sick relative, can be under enormous pressure’


is predicted to increase (highest increase for those aged 85 and over at 76%). In Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, this is even higher (at 81% and 78% respectively) compared with Carmarthenshire which is slightly lower at 71%. While dementia is not an


inevitable outcome of ageing, it is nevertheless true that people are living longer and not necessarily living in longer in good health. As a statistical probability, as the population ages the number of those with dementia will increase (See Table A). A report from Hywel Dda Health


Board stated: “The current approach to service provision will not be


‘Far more needs to be done’: Paul Davies AM


sustainable as budgets reduce. The number of people needing support to live independently is also predicted to increase.”


THE IMPACT ON FARMING By far the largest single industry


employing people across west Wales is agriculture, with small farms contributing disproportionately large sums to local economies and business networks both directly and indirectly Research carried out by Plymouth


University into the experience of dementia in farming and farming families, and its impact on their businesses and home lives, has identified four areas of concern which need to be addressed if dementia in the countryside is to be managed. The four areas of concern


identified by the study were: the farm environment; a reluctance to ask for help; support services; and changing rural communities. The areas of concern emerged after listening to farmers and their families about their experiences of dementia and how it


impacts on their business and home lives.


Paul Davies AM told us: “Far


more needs to be done to ensure that farming families are firstly aware of the support that is available and secondly, have access to those services. It’s crucial that the Welsh Government and the health sector do more to engage with the farming sector. The farm environment can be difficult to maintain at the best of times, and so when someone is affected by dementia, it’s crucial that the right and proper support network is in place to better protect farming families and their livelihoods.” FUW President Glyn Roberts


said: “The findings of the study rightly identify the farm as a potentially dangerous environment for all and of course more so for those suffering with dementia. “Following farm safety advice might be difficult for those suffering


Councillor Alun Lenny: ‘Not


enough attention has been paid to the importance of the Welsh language in dementia services’


from dementia. But those working on the farm, who are caring for a sick relative, can also be under enormous pressure both caring for themselves and looking out for others.” A particular issue affecting rural


Wales was touched upon by Simon Thomas AM. He told us: “Improvements in


social care are needed throughout Wales, but it is a particular concern in rural areas. “Many farmers in Wales are


Welsh-speakers and it is crucial that they can access dementia services through the medium of Welsh as communicating with staff through their first language is vital to the health of dementia sufferers.”


FIRST LANGUAGE CARE A report from the Alzheimer’s


Society suggests that there is a significant overlap between rurality and the challenges specifically affecting people with dementia whose first language is Welsh. That was recognised by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, who reports: “[C]oncerns emerged about the lack of Welsh-speaking services available. “One daughter spoke of the


difficulty of finding a residential care home with Welsh-speakers for her father and also spoke of the difficulty of finding hospital professionals who could explain issues to her parents in Welsh. “Another highlighted the difficulty


in conducting a capacity assessment for a patient whose first language was Welsh and one carer commented that she felt lucky that the person for whom she cared for was not a Welsh- speaker.” In a Welsh language interview


with Herald reporter Rhian Morgan, Carmarthenshire councillor Alun Lenny told The Herald: “Not enough attention has been paid to the importance of the Welsh language in dementia services in the past, but things are changing.


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