Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-wpx84 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-13T02:20:07.148Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Aide memoire: What should a memory clinic or a memory assessment service look like?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2016

T. O’Carroll ,
K. Glynn ,
D. Lyons  and
K. Looney
T. O’Carroll*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry of Later Life, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
K. Glynn
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry of Later Life, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
D. Lyons
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry of Later Life, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
K. Looney
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry of Later Life, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr T. O’Carroll, Department of Psychiatry of Later Life, St Patrick’s University Hospital, PO Box 136, James’s Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. (Email: ocarrolt@tcd.ie)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

With the global ageing of our societies and the predicted increase of cognitive impairment and dementia, there is increasing interest in the role and scope of memory clinics or memory assessment services in the early assessment, diagnosis and management of all subtypes of dementia. Memory clinics generally attempt to provide a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of memory impairment and dementia. However, little consensus exists about the profile or complement of staff that would constitute an ideal memory clinic, and services vary widely in terms of their organisation, remit and functioning. The purpose of this article is to highlight the variation amongst the existing complement of memory clinics in Ireland. The 17 models are compared in terms of their core multidisciplinary service and services available on referral. The Irish National Dementia Strategy recommends a well-coordinated service that provides early diagnosis and treatment, and one with good links to local support agencies. However, many of the services in Ireland lack input from relevant allied health professionals. This article also focusses on one privately funded memory clinic in Ireland which aims to bridge the gap between accurate diagnosis, holistic assessment and follow-up through comprehensive multidisciplinary input. The challenges facing this service are discussed, with particular reference to the difficulties encountered when providing community follow-up by a private sector clinic.

Keywords

Dementiadementia subtypememory clinicmultidisciplinary assessmentneuropsychology
Type
Perspective Piece
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 141 - 146
Copyright
© College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banerjee, S, Willis, R, Matthews, D, Contell, F, Chan, J, Murray, J (2007). Improving the quality of care for mild to moderate dementia: an evaluation of the Croydon Memory Service Model. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 22, 782–788.Google Scholar
Cahill, S, Pierce, M, Moore, V (2014). A national survey of memory clinics in the Republic of Ireland. International Psychogeriatrics 26, 605–613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Central Statistics Office Ireland (2013). Press release: population and labour force projections 2016-2046 (www.cso.ie). Accessed 4 January 2016.Google Scholar
Crooke, T, Bartus, RT, Ferris, SH, Whitehouse, P, Cohen, GD, Gershon, S (1986). Age‐associated memory impairment: proposed diagnostic criteria and measures of clinical change – report of a National Institute of Mental Health Work Group. Developmental Neuropsychology 2, 261–276.Google Scholar
Culliton, G (2014). Further decline in number insured. Irish Medical Times. 11 September, www.imt.ie. Accessed 12 July 2015.Google Scholar
Department of Health (2012). Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia. Delivering Major Improvements in Dementia Care and Research by 2015. Department of Health: UK Government.Google Scholar
Department of Health (2014). The Irish National Dementia Strategy. Department of Health: Dublin.Google Scholar
Department of Health, United Kingdom (2009). National Dementia Strategy for England (www.gov.uk).Google Scholar
DSIDC (2014). Memory Clinics in Ireland- A Guide for Family Caregivers and Health Service Professionals, 3rd edn. Dementia Services Information and Development Centre, St. James’s Hospital and Trinity College Dublin: Dublin.Google Scholar
Foreman, P, Gardner, I, Davis, S (2004). Multidisciplinary memory clinics: what is important to caregivers and clients? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 19, 588–589.Google Scholar
Heeren, TJ (2005). Services to people with dementia: a worldwide view – Netherlands. Chap. In Dementia, 3rd edn. (ed. A. Burns, J. O’Brien and D. Ames), pp. 288–289. Hodder-Arnold: London.Google Scholar
Herbert, LE, Weuve, J, Scherr, PA, Evans, DA (2013). Alzheimer’s disease in the United States (2010–2050). Estimated using the 2010 Census. Neurology 80, 1778–1783.Google Scholar
Hodges, JR, Berrios, G, Breen, K (2000). The multidisciplinary memory clinic approach. In Memory disorders in Psychiatric practice (ed. G. E. Berrios and J. R. Hodges), pp. 101–117. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.Google Scholar
Leahy, S, Nolan, A, O’ Connell, J, Kenny, RA (2014). Obesity in an Ageing Society: Implications for Health, Physical Function and Health Service Utilisation. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing: Dublin.Google Scholar
Lindesay, J, Marudkar, M, van Diepen, E, Wilcock, G (2002). The second Leicester survey of memory clinics in the British Isles. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 17, 41–47.Google Scholar
Memory Services National Accreditation Programme (MSNAP) (2012). Standards for Memory Services, 3rd edn Pub. No. CCQI131 Royal College of Psychiatrists Centre for Quality Improvement: London.Google Scholar
Moniz-Cook, E, Gibson, G, Harrison, J, Wilkinson, H (2009). Timely psychosocial interventions in a memory clinic. In Early Psychosocial Interventions in Dementia: Evidence-Based Practice (ed. E. D. Moniz-Cook and J. Manthorpe), pp. 50–70. Jessica Kingsley: London.Google Scholar
Pierce, M, Cahill, S, O’Shea, E (2014). Prevalence and Projections of Dementia in Ireland, 2011–2046. Genio: Mullingar.Google Scholar
Ramakers, IHGB, Verhey, RJ (2011). Development of memory clinics in Netherlands: 1998 to 2009. Aging and Mental Health 15, 34–39.Google Scholar
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2015). Second English National Memory Clinics Audit Report, Royal College of Psychiatrists (www.rcpsych.ac.uk).Google Scholar
Rubinsztein, JS, van Rensburg, MJ, Al-Salihy, Z, Girling, D, Lafortune, L, Radhakrishnan, M, Brayne, C (2015). A memory clinic v. traditional community mental health team service: comparison of costs and quality. BJPsych Bulletin 39, 6–11.Google Scholar
Schaber, P (2010). Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. American Occupational Therapy Association: Bethesda, MD, p. 198.Google Scholar
Thornhill, JT (2011). NMS Psychiatry, 6th edn. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins: Baltimore, MD, p. 93.Google Scholar
Welsh Assembly Government (2009). National Dementia Action Plan for Wales 2009 (www.wales.nhs.uk).Google Scholar
Wright, N, Lindesay, J (1995). A survey of memory clinics in the British Isles. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 10, 379–385.Google Scholar