As chief executive of the West of Ireland Alzheimer Foundation, John Grant's focus is on improving respite care
The West of Ireland Alzheimer Foundation operates two respite care homes for people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, one in Mayo and one in Galway. It also offers day care services and runs a home support service for people living in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon.
Last year, we employed 175 people, provided 52,000 hours of home support and, through our 12,400 bed days, gave 1,768 weekly breaks to carers.
I am based at our respite home in Ballindine, near Claremorris, Co Mayo. Mine is not a traditional nine-to-five job. I work all sorts of hours. I have to be there to meet the needs of families.
Because our budget is not near enough to cater for the growing need in the area, a lot of my work is centred on fundraising. I have to attend a lot of functions. Sometimes that involves being out to 3am of 4am a few nights a week. We run a weekly lotto which is the mainstay of our fundraising. We would not be able to continue without it.
We get €650,000 from Government, but it costs €130,000 a month to run both our homes. Last year, we raised €1.2 million through fundraising alone.
A big part of my job involves meeting with representatives of the HSE Western Area, with whom we have a good working relationship, Government representatives and politicians.
I also try to spend as much time as possible in the homes of carers. I love visiting the homes of our carers, sitting down over a cup of tea and talking over their problems. Unfortunately, I don't get the time to do it as much as I used to.
My father-in-law had Alzheimer's in the 1980s and was looked after by his family. At that time, there was nobody to give them a hand.
The organisation had its origins in an information night I held in 1990 for careers of people suffering from Alzheimer's.
A huge number of people attended. Many didn't know much about the disease, there was terrible stigma attached to it and carers were operating on their own with absolutely no help.
The organisation was officially established in 1994, when a home support service was set up through the foundation's fundraising and the Fás community employment scheme.
A respite care facility was founded in 1996 in a rented house. It was a huge undertaking. At the time, the medical thinking was that a person with Alzheimer's could not be taken out of their home because they would become disorientated. Medical opinion has since changed. But we believed that if a person is looked after in a homey atmosphere and talked to about things they want to talk about, they will fit in.
In 1999, we set up the first purpose-built respite home in Ireland, with 12 beds in Ballindine. From the first day, there has not been a free bed at any time. Plans for an extra 10 beds are under way.
In 2002, we purchased Maryfield Nursing Home in Athenry and set up a 22-bed facility. We have secured a site adjacent to Merlin Park Hospital in Galway and plans for a 29-unit respite home are well advanced.
We now have more services in the west of Ireland than any other comparable area in Europe.
(In interview with Fiona Tyrrell)